


A Brand New World

by Enigma13



Series: Bechloe - A Pokemon World [1]
Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Best Friends, F/F, First Dates, Friends to Lovers, Internalized Homophobia, Mentions of homophobia, One Shot Collection, Pokemon AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2019-01-30
Packaged: 2019-04-29 09:54:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 60,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14470149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enigma13/pseuds/Enigma13
Summary: Pokemon AU - Ever since moving to New Bark Town in the Johto region, Beca and Chloe had been joined at the hip. Best friends forever, so while it made sense for Chloe to ask Beca to join her on her Pokemon journey, Beca was still surprised because how could anything as perfect as Chloe Beale want her to join her in making her dream come true. But with that hopeful, almost begging look that Chloe had given her... there wasn't a chance she'd say no.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi Everyone! I'm Enigma for those of you in the Bechloe fandom who haven't read anything by me before! I've always really loved Pitch Perfect but I hadn't rewatched it since High School and I did recently and I was just so re-impressed with that movie and the characters and just loved it more than I thought I did the first time around! So, I immediately came on here and have been going back through the annals of Ao3 and reading a ton of Bechloe fics, I think I'm on page 60 of completed works now... so... It's ruined my life basically.
> 
> Anyway, I had this idea and it just wouldn't leave me alone, plus I started working on it and it just became longer and longer and I think this is the longest single chapter I've ever written and I'm kind of weirdly super proud of this? Anyway, this is a Pokemon AU, but I think it's accessible to people who don't know Pokemon as well as my nerdy self. If not, then any Pokemon or people are easily looked up online if you want to see what they truly look like.
> 
> I hope you enjoy my first, but hopefully not last, contribution to the Bechloe fandom! You guys have been so great since I was sucked into the darkness with you all, and I hope you guys like this little thing from a newbie here!

“Beca Mitchell wake up this instant!”

Beca grunted, pushing her face back into her pillow; her nice warm, soft pillow. She didn’t have long to enjoy it though, as the fist on her door made her painfully aware who was threatening to enter her room and pull her out of bed kicking and screaming.

“Don’t make me come in there! I’ve waited long enough to start so you could sleep in!”

Beca grunted, “I’m coming Chloe! God!” She yelled out, venom in her voice that she knew her best friend wouldn’t take seriously. Stupid sunny redhead person. Plus, it’s not like she could stay mad at Chloe for long, being in love with her and everything, not that the other girl knew that. Beca would rather get eaten alive by Rattata than admit that to her face. It was painful enough just to admit it to herself.

Now a little more awake, Beca could at least understand Chloe’s excitement and demanding words as she remembered what day it was today. Chloe was receiving her first Pokemon today, starting her journey, and all on her sixteenth birthday like every other kid had the option to do in any region of the world. Beca knew that Chloe had been looking forward to today for years, had always loved Pokemon ever since Beca knew her and that was a long time. 

Beca had moved to New Bark Town back when she was seven with her older brother and her father. Her brother was a couple years older than her, and one of her closest confidantes. He had loved Pokemon as much as Chloe did and he and Chloe had also developed a close friendship. He’d turned sixteen a couple of years ago, received his Cyndaquil from Professor Elm and started off on his journey to defeat the Pokemon League gyms and catch Pokemon that he liked and wanted to train. Many of his catches were transferred back to Professor Elm and hung out around Beca’s house sometimes, much to her dad’s chagrin, but her secret delight. When he finished each region he would come back and visit, spending a couple weeks while deciding where to go next. He’d just sent her a letter from the Kalos region that was posted on her mirror right now. Beca loved Kenny a lot, bonding over both of their less than ideal relationship with their dad, pushing them all the closer. 

Her father was… fine. He didn’t much care for anything of fun or frivolity. He considered her brother’s love for Pokemon training and her love for music to be both of those thing and frowned heavily on them. He was a Professor that was cutting his teeth in Elm’s lab as tech help before he could transfer out for a “real job.” He was a real piece of work, but luckily, neither Elm nor any of their neighbors really held it against she or Kenny.

Beca met her next door neighbor Chloe Beale when the girl was eight and had been forced into the best friendship of her life; she didn’t even fight to admit it anymore: Chloe was the biggest part of her life. She’d dragged Beca; unwillingly most of the time, to Professor Elm’s lab to look at the different Pokemon, play with them, even help feed them. Beca didn’t mind Pokemon, she actually liked them; studied them in school and everything, but they weren’t her life, not like they were for Chloe, not like music was for Beca. The thing is, while Chloe would drag her off to do the stuff with the Pokemon, which Beca really didn’t mind doing; she’d talk to Beca, ask questions, and be interested in Beca’s stuff too. Chloe was the first one that Beca ever showed one of her mixes to, and Chloe had been nothing but supportive of Beca’s dream to be a DJ.

When Chloe had told Beca that she’d be undergoing a journey to be a Pokemon trainer, Beca was distraught. She’d be losing her only remaining friend in New Bark Town with her brother already gone. She’d be stuck with her dad, who would continue to wear her down with his criticisms until he’d force her into what his ideal for her life would be. However, her distress was unfounded, as Chloe had immediately followed this up with a plea for Beca to join her, apply for a Pokemon a year early so she could come with. Beca had declined the application, she didn’t think it was fair that she’d take a Pokemon, depriving someone else who might really want one, when it wasn’t really her dream, but had accepted her invitation to accompany her with a grumble of faux annoyance and a small smile to let Chloe know how secretly pleased she was at her offer. Beca had told Chloe that it was a blessing anyway so she could use their traveling to book up some clubs to DJ at while they traveled so she could pursue her dream at the same time and cut her teeth in the industry. Chloe had jumped at the opportunity by actually jumping on Beca in the happiest tackle hug that Beca had ever been a part of. So here Beca was, packed up with her DJ gear, laptop, and personal items like clothes, ready to leave with Chloe on the first day of Chloe’s adventure. 

Chloe had left her alone after Beca’s response to her knocking, and now Beca simply combed her fingers through her hair, straightening it out and throwing on a pair of black skinny jeans, a dark red tank top, and a sleeveless grey jacket. She looked at herself in the mirror, took a deep breath, added her headphones around her neck ready to be plugged into her phone, and finally turned to the door. 

She grabbed her bag, throwing it around her shoulders, and flying down the stairs two at a time, excitement bubbling in her chest despite her reservations at the idea of going on a Pokemon journey, even if it was to spend more time with Chloe and to start to get into the business she wanted to get into. She stopped on the ground floor of her house, looking into the kitchen to see her father sitting there with the newspaper, reading while he ate breakfast. She cleared her throat and he looked up at her.

“Bye dad.”

He gave her a hard look. “There is still time to call this off, Beca.”

She gave him a withering look. He hadn’t approved on either of his children leaving for a journey. He and Kenny had many fights leading up to him leaving, but with Beca it was more passive aggressive comments, looks of displeasure, and complete apathy. He wanted her to go into more schooling, become a businesswoman, or a teacher or something that she could never see herself doing. She’d tried to explain that to him, but he wasn’t taking it at all, completely talking over her at any chance he got. 

“I’m going. You going to come see me off?”

He turned back to his newspaper and sighed, his petulant look growing on his face. “Stay safe.”

She glared at him, turning to the front door. “Whatever.”

The dark look on her face lifted almost immediately upon stepping out of the house and into the breezy, bright day, but not because of the beauty of the small town before her, rather the beauty of the redhead that was standing there, tapping her foot, almost vibrating in excitement. 

“Finally!”

Beca gave her a glare that didn’t have the kind of venom it would for anyone else. Not like it would affect Chloe anyway. “It’s like seven A.M. Chloe. The professor might not even be up yet.”

“I wanna get there first so I can choose my Pokemon! I want all my options there!” She gave her a petulant little foot stomp to go along with it. One that had no right to be as cute as Beca thought it was. 

Beca hummed, “Well, I’m ready now, wanna head over?”

The redhead grinned, leaped forward and dragged Beca into a hug, arms pinned to her sides and even crushing her backpack. Beca grunted and wiggled hopelessly, and not as hard as she could of to get away from her friend. Chloe looked down, her face incredibly close to Beca’s and gave her that smaller smile that seemed reserved for just Beca. “Yes! Gosh, I spent all night thinking of which one I wanted! I’m so excited I can’t even stand it!” She hopped in place a bit, an excited squeal coming from her lips.

Beca gave her a small smile after she could breathe again once Chloe let go of her. “And? Did you pick one?”

Chloe gave her a wink and pulled on her hand, throwing her own bag over her other shoulder. “Of course, but you’ll have to wait for the surprise! My new Pokemon will be both of our new friend!”

Beca grinned and allowed herself to be dragged by her excited friend down the street, where she could already see Professor Elm’s Lab in the morning sun. She jogged to catch up and walk alongside Chloe, who didn’t let go of her hand, even when she pulled up alongside her; not that Beca was really thinking about it too much or anything. Totally not a big deal at all for her. 

Beca’s thoughts of their fingers interlacing was interrupted as Chloe continued to chatter on about everything she was excited for. “And then, we’ll head to Violet City where I can take on my first gym! And I’ll be sure to catch a couple new Pokemon to train and I’ll kick Falkner’s ass!”

“You’ll do great, Chlo, I’m sure of it. And I bet Violet City has a couple of good places I can get my music played at. I just can’t wait to get to Goldenrod.” That was the city Beca was most excited for. It had the biggest radio station of any of the cities, and if she could get her music played there then a lot of different avenues would open up for her. It also had a lot of shopping centers and a Pokemon Gym; safe to say it was on the top of both of their lists to visit.

Chloe gave her an adoring look. “They’d be dumb not to play your stuff. It’s amazing. And I’ll make sure that we stay there as long as we need to in order for you to get what you need to done. I know how important it is.” And if that didn’t make Beca’s heart melt a little bit. The fact that Chloe, who was so set on her own dream that she’d have very intense dreams of being in Pokemon battles, ones that had woken Beca up in the middle of the night during sleep overs, would take a complete pause from it to make sure Beca’s dream was started meant everything to her. Who needed her dad when Chloe believed in her?

Beca grinned, but tried not to show how much the words actually meant to her. “Thanks. You’re the best.”

Chloe gave her a knowing smile, bright and bubbly, like she knew the stuff that Beca wasn’t saying. She’d always been able to read her, no matter what.

As they turned the last corner heading towards the lab, Beca saw that someone had in fact beaten them there, standing outside with Professor Elm, a middle aged eccentric man that loved Pokemon. He was fine in Beca’s opinion, was never weird or anything, just a little absentminded. Chloe excitedly waved to the Professor and the other girl standing next to him, Aubrey Posen. Aubrey was another girl in the town that sometimes hung out with them. She was closer to Chloe than she was to Beca. Aubrey wasn’t Beca’s biggest fan and Beca wasn’t too fond of how snappy Aubrey could be when things didn’t go her way. They lived somewhat amicably at least, enough for them to exchange a small nod as Chloe pulled Beca in front of them.

“Hi Professor! Hi Aubrey!” Chloe chirped happily. 

Professor Elm smiled at both of them. “Chloe and Beca! I’m glad you’re here! We are ready to start as soon as you are!” He gave a look at Beca and tilted his head. “Are you sure you don’t want to choose one with the other two?”

Beca shook her head. “No thanks Professor. I mean, I’d love to have a Pokemon, as a friend or something, you know? But, I’m not sure battling is for me, at least not right now with my music going. Wouldn’t be fair to whichever Pokemon that I picked or taking that opportunity to someone who for sure knew that they wanted it.”

He smiled at her. “If you don’t mind me saying, the fact that you care about what a Pokemon would want, proves to me that you’d be a great trainer in the future should you choose to be, just maybe not a battler.” 

Beca gave him a small thankful smile, ignoring how proud Chloe looked of her, and the blush that was blooming on her face. And with her nod, the Professor turned back to Aubrey and Chloe and motioned them in side.

The Lab was what you’d expect. It had a large garden, if that’s what you could call it with how large it was as it was facing the outskirts of town and had vast hills for the extra Pokemon of New Bark Town trainers while they waited to be called to battle. The inside was a mix of large machines and computer read outs that Beca couldn’t even begin to understand. She’d been in here before though, as had the other girls, and the only thing that was different was the table set out with three Pokeballs sitting on it. In front of each Pokeball was a picture of the Pokemon inside. There were always three choices for new trainers, different ones in different regions, and Beca knew them by heart. There was always a grass, fire, and a water type available for starting trainers. The ones in Johto were Chikorita, the Leaf Pokemon, Cyndaquil, the Fire Mouse Pokemon (the one her brother had chosen), and Totodile, the Big Jaw Pokemon. Beca had no idea which one Chloe had decided upon. She loved each and every one, harping on about how amazing they each would be as a partner to Beca countless times. To say she was interested in where Chloe had landed on her choice was a bit of an understatement, and something that Beca couldn’t even begin to guess at.

They arrived at the table and Beca watched Chloe barely refrain from reaching out and grabbing all three Pokeballs and squealing with happiness. Professor Elm stood behind the table and smiled. “The time has come for each of you to choose a partner to start your journey. I’ll leave it up to you two on who should decide first.”

Beca watched with interest as Chloe turned to Aubrey and Aubrey did the same. They stared at each other for a second before nodding to one another. And then, to Beca’s astonishment, the control freak Aubrey stepped back, gesturing to the table before her. Chloe smiled and quietly said a quick thank you to Aubrey. She stepped forward and stared intensely at the three Pokeballs. Beca held her breath on behalf of her friend, making one of her biggest life decisions to date. Then with an amount of relaxation that Beca did not have at that moment, Chloe reached forward and grabbed Chikorita’s Pokeball. 

Beca blew out a small puff of air and smiled at the overjoyed look on her friend’s face. Professor Elm did as well. “A good choice! Chikorita is a grass type and those are usually easy to raise for new trainers, but a fully evolved Meganium is very versatile in battle!”

Chloe smiled and stepped back, gesturing at Aubrey to go ahead. As Aubrey started forward for her choice Chloe looked back at Beca and gave her a wide grin and pointed to the Pokeball in her hands excited, looking like she couldn’t believe it was real, making Beca chuckle. What a weirdo. She turned her attention to Aubrey, as Chloe did the same, to see her bend down to take Totodile’s Pokeball. Beca smiled, that would probably be a good fit, but as she drowned out Professor Elm’s little speech for Aubrey, she couldn’t help but take in the amount of beauty that seemed to be oozing from Chloe at this moment. She was always beautiful, at least, Beca had always thought so. But there was something about her when she was overly happy that just… did something to Beca. Luckily, Chloe seemed to always be happy around Beca, or at least would always become happier while they were hanging out, something that Beca didn’t know how it happened, but she was glad that she could have that effect on her best friend, and she definitely wanted to continue whatever it was so that Chloe would always be happy.

Beca looked up to see Chloe walking up to her with an excited skip, holding her Pokeball out for Beca to look at. She smiled at her red haired best friend and nodded. “I see. You ready to meet Chikorita? I’m surprised you haven’t already done so actually.”

Chloe chuckled, “I wanted you to be there when I do. You’ll be traveling with us, so I’m hoping that Chikorita will like us both.”

Beca nodded, already heading outside as Chloe said goodbye to Aubrey. When they got to the field next to the lab, Chloe took a deep breath and threw the Pokeball. It burst open in a shower of blue energy, a small quadruped Pokemon appeared and looked around. It was a light green with what looked to be nubs around its neck and a large leaf on its head. It had wide red eyes that looked around curiously before the locked on Chloe. She had bent done in front of Chikorita and smiled. “Hi Chikorita! I’m Chloe, and I’m going to be your trainer!” She stuck a hand out to Chikorita, which Beca had to snort at, until one of Chikorita’s nubs grew out into a vine and shook Chloe’s hand as it chirped its name in a happy tone. 

Beca stared down at the little Pokemon, already feeling a bit apprehensive. What if it didn’t like her? She had always gotten along with her brother’s Pokemon, but this was different, she’d be effectively living everyday with this Pokemon from here on out. And to be honest, some of the feeling was because she did feel a little left out. However, she knew that no matter what she was feeling, it wouldn’t have been right to claim a Pokemon back at the lab when she didn’t really have any plans to do anything with Pokemon at the moment. Maybe Chikorita would sense that and it would hate her. But Beca’s fears were soon put to rest as Chloe turned and pointed her out to the small Leaf Pokemon. “That’s Beca, she’s my human best friend, and she really is the greatest. I know she looks grumpy like that all the time, but she’s a total sweetheart, and she’ll be traveling with us!” Chikorita smiled at her and extended a vine to her. Beca bit her lip and reached out to tentatively take it. As if sensing her nervousness, Chikorita waved her leaf, a sweet smelling odor washed over Beca, calming her anxiety a bit. She reached out with more confidence to take the vine. 

“Hey, dude.” Chloe snorted at how Beca addressed her Pokemon, but smiled at their seeming friendship. Beca sniffed again, feeling more relaxed than she had ever felt before, especially around her best friend and crush when her entire body felt like it was a twitching awkward mess. “What’s with the aroma? Is that Chikorita?”

Chloe opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by a voice from behind them. “Yeah, Chikoritas and their evolutions can do that for people it likes. Really helps chill people out and keep everyone friendly.” Beca spun around to see her brother Kenny standing behind them smiling. “A good choice for you, Chlo.” 

Beca was already smiling as she looked at her older brother. He still wore that ratty old leather jacket she’d bought him for his sixteenth birthday, dirty brown hair in his eyes, and dark wash jeans. He looked good, healthy and unharmed, which was always a secret worry of hers. She walked up with Chloe and Chikorita and hugged him, quickly followed by a hug from Chloe. “Kenny! What are you doing here? I didn’t know you were coming home.”

He chuckled, returning their hugs. “Well, I found out from dad on a phone call that you were leaving on a journey.” He gave her a frown. “You didn’t mention that in your last letter. And going without a Pokemon too.” Beca sighed; she really hoped he wasn’t here to talk her out of doing this. He’d been supportive up to now, but maybe this was too much?

“Wipe that look off your face, Becs. I’m here cause I wanted to see you off like you did for me when I left.” He smirked at her, always able to read her.

“Yeah, but I just walked you to the front door, weirdo. You came all the way from Kalos.”

He shrugged, “You’re my sister.” And how that simple line could mean so much to Beca, she’d never understand. It just did, and it left her with that warm fuzzy feeling she only got around Chloe and Kenny when they said nice things she wouldn’t otherwise hear from anyone else in her life. “Oh! Speaking of which, I do have an ulterior motive for being here.” He pulled his backpack from his shoulders and hunched down. He started digging through it hastily. 

“You did not bring me a souvenir. I don’t know if I can carry anything else.”

He chuckled and shrugged, “Kind of. I did have one issue with you leaving and I wanted to make sure that I was doing my brotherly duty to fix it.” He pulled out a Pokeball, but not a traditional red and white schemed one. It was green with red trim, dark spots around it; a dusk ball. “I don’t like the thought of you going out there without a Pokemon. I know you don’t want to battle, and that’s fine, but this is in case you get lost, or get separated from Chloe for protection.” He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, while offering the Pokeball forward to Beca. “I caught him with you in mind anyway, maybe for like a pet at home. He can battle too, if you ever decide to, but if you open it up, you’ll see why I thought of you when I caught him.”

Beca was stunned. Not only had her brother traveled a great distance just to see her off on her and Chloe’s journey, but he’d also caught a Pokemon strictly for her. And not for something selfish like forcing her into his way of life as a battler, but just as a companion and for protection; it was incredibly thoughtful. Beca never liked being told what to do, and her brother had always understood that. He found the loophole in her thinking that as long as he did something that left the ultimate choice of what to do with whatever it was up to Beca, she’d more than likely listen and decide what was best for her. 

She gaped at the Pokeball, looking at Chloe who was nodding excitedly at her to take it. She looked back up at her brother who nodded. She reached forward and grabbed it. She stared at it for a second before looking up at her brother. “What is it? You said you thought of me, but that doesn’t tell me what it is.” 

He just smiled at her and winked. “Open it. You’ll understand then, I think.”

She gulped and tossed the Pokeball up. It opened and out popped a light purple Pokemon with large ears that kind of looked like a stereo speaker. It had small wings that it flapped to stay in the air. It cawed its name to the sky and flew down to rest on Kenny’s shoulder. He scratched under its chin and chuckled. “Beca, this is Noibat. It’s called the Sound Wave Pokemon. Their enormous ears can emit ultrasonic waves of 200,000 hertz. I thought it would fit right in with you, maybe even help you with the DJ thing you got going on.” He pointed his arm at Beca and Noibat looked at her, cocking it’s head and flying over to her shoulder. She tensed up a bit as it landed, but relaxed when it seemed more interested in her headphones. She smiled down at it as Kenny continued. “If you ever do decide to battle, he’s can become a pretty powerful battler. He’s a flying and dragon type, though he doesn’t look like it yet. His evolved form is much bigger and scarier, but I figure that if you have Noibat, you can have him help you with your music and stay safe with all the attacks he knows at the same time. It’ll help me sleep a lot sounder that’s for sure.”

Beca scratched under Noibat’s chin and he purred into her hand. He was fluffier than he first appeared and she smiled at how adorable he seemed to her, and how perfectly a Sound wave type Pokemon fit to her whole aesthetics and interests. However, he was her brother’s Pokemon, so he might not even want to come with Beca. “And how does Noibat feel about coming with me?” She tried to keep her nervousness out of her tone. Noibat tilted its head at her, glanced down to her head phones and let out a sound from it’s ears that seemed like a pleasant hum in her chest, like a deep bass note. She grinned; she could definitely see Noibat helping her out with mixes in the future. “If he’s okay with it, then I guess I am too.” She gave her brother a smile that she really only reserved for him and Chloe. “Thanks.”

“Anytime. You’d be surprised how interests can mix with the world of Pokemon. Might even find some more sound kind of Pokemon out there if you look, so definitely pick up some Pokeballs in the next town.” He gave her a smirk. “Just in case.”

Beca nodded, biting her lip. She couldn’t believe how much things had already changed in the span of one morning. “Are you going to check in on dad?”

He frowned like that was a chore he was not looking forward to. “I’m avoiding it as long as I can, thought I’d visit my Pokemon all at once here at the Lab while I’m here. I’ve missed them a lot.”

Chloe spoke up for the first time in a bit. “They’ve all been behaving, Kenny! And I’ve been playing with them every so often to keep them in tiptop shape! Beca’s been helping me too!” 

He grinned over at Chloe and nodded. “I always appreciate that! I know how good of care you put my Pokemon in when I’m gone, so Chikorita, you’ll be in good hands.” 

Chikorita chirped happily from Chloe’s feet. Kenny hugged Beca goodbye and turned to hug Chloe before tilting his head. She had backed up a few paces from him. Beca turned as well, confused. Chloe was smirking though. “Kenny, you didn’t bring me anything?”

He blushed, “Er, sorry no, I didn’t. I was in a rush to get here before you guys left.”

She shook her head. “You’ll have to make it up to me. Right now.”

He frowned, confused where Chloe was going with this. “Right now? What do you want exactly?”

“I want you to be my first Pokemon battle.”

Beca looked at Chloe weirdly. “Are you kidding? He’s been a trainer for years, Chlo. You just got Chikorita a half an hour ago!”

Chloe didn’t look swayed in the least. “I can learn a lot just from battling him. And it’ll help Chikorita and I bond! Come on, Kenny! Please?”

The puppy dog eyes that Chloe had were killer. She knew her brother’s answer before he said it. “Alright, you got it.” Beca would call him a sucker if she weren’t just as weak for those eyes. “I have a couple new Pokemon that should be around equal strength to Chikorita.” He gave her a competitive grin, “But I’m not gonna go easy on you just cause you’re new.”

Chloe grinned, big and bright, “I’m counting on it.”

Kenny backed up and stood across from them, allowing a large enough space for a battle as Beca sighed. Leave it to her best friend and her brother to make it an exciting morning. She looked at Noibat on her shoulder and sighed, “I’d probably get used to this, dude. This is our life now.” She couldn’t help but think that if she did get into battling, well, it would certainly be another thing the three of them could bond over… or maybe just her and Chloe.

Noibat seemed to chuckle a little bit, allowing Beca a small smile at her new Pokemon friend. She turned back to see Chikorita already out on the field of battle, looking ready to rumble, as it swung its leaf around, pumping itself up. She looked at her brother. He’d told her he’d caught a lot of new Pokemon in Kalos already, she’d even seen a few when she went to visit some of his others with Chloe. She had no idea what kind of Pokemon would be new enough that it wouldn’t blow Chikorita out of the water, but she knew her brother wasn’t a bad guy that would lie about using a similar strength Pokemon, especially against Chloe, whom he’d known for most of his teenage life.

He threw a Pokeball, letting it pop open to reveal a yellow and black reptile with large ears hanging down. It wagged its tail and chirped its own name, looking ready to battle as much as Chikorita did. “This is Helioptile. He’s an electric and normal type. Sound good for your first match?”

Chloe grinned, “Good luck using electric type moves against my grass type!”

Kenny grinned, “Someone has been studying, but part of being a trainer is making sure you cover a Pokemon’s weaknesses! So never take things at face value!”

She nodded, Beca watching how sure she already seemed in herself and her new Pokemon. She glanced at Noibat and wondered if this was something that they’d do in the future. But the first attack call from Chloe pulled her from her thoughts.

“Chikorita, use Razor Leaf!” Chikorita swung its leaf and several spinning leave cut through the air towards Helioptile. 

“Helioptile dodge it with Quick Attack, then towards Chikorita!” Helioptile became like a blur, showcasing some intense speed as it dodged the leaves, darting towards Chikorita. Beca tensed up, as Chikorita took the hard hit and flew back.

Chloe just seemed mildly annoyed, but keeping her cool she shouted out. “Poisonpowder!”

A purple dust sprayed from under Chikorita’s leaf and caught Helioptile while it was still gathering itself from its own attack. It started coughing as Kenny cursed under his breath before giving her a small smile. “Good move, Chloe!”

“No time for praise now! Tackle, Chikorita!” Chikorita shot forward, not as fast as Helioptile, but still a lot of hustle, to slam into Helioptile’s side. Beca was impressed with how focused Chloe was in the face of her first battle. Of course, she’s had years to dream of it, but going against someone as experienced as Kenny, it was really something to see… and kind of hot in Beca’s opinion. Helioptile flew back and winced, trying to stand up. Kenny was looking all around the field, obviously trying to think of a way out of his predicament. 

His smile brightened when his eyes landed on a nearby lake. “Helioptile, Quick Attack into the water!” Helioptile didn’t even hesitate and shot for it.

Chloe looked stumped but called out an attack to stop the reptile. “Razor Leaf!” The leaves shot forward and hit Helioptile in the side knocking it into the water. It disappeared under the film of water and then popped up. It looked healthier, happier. It looked more pumped up than it had at the start!

Chloe now looked alarmed, shouting in confusion. “What?” 

Kenny grinned over at her, sticking his tongue out. “Helioptile’s ability is Dry Skin. It gains energy back from being hit by water attacks, so I figured the lake would work just as well.” 

Beca had to admit that it was a smart move. She knew her brother was good, but that was the veteran experience difference between Kenny and Chloe. Helioptile hopped out the water and it’s ears lit up as electricity coursed over it. “Thundershock!” Electricity shot at Chikorita and hit it, causing it to call out in pain, but it didn’t seem to affect it much.

“Razor Leaf, Chikorita!” The leaves shot out again and Kenny looked thoughtful. 

“Bat them away with your ears!” Helioptile widened its ears again and turned its head side to side, knocking the leaves out of the way to either side. Beca widened her eyes.

Chloe cursed as well. She then looked thoughtfully at Chikorita, giving Kenny the opportunity to call another Quick Attack. Chloe stood her ground though and smirked. “Chikorita, use your leaf as a shield!” Chikorita lowered its leaf and braced itself behind it. Kenny looked shocked, as Helioptile collided with the leaf and couldn’t budge the grass Pokemon. 

“I’m learning from you already!” Chloe called out teasingly. 

Kenny chuckled, “You’re certainly a natural, but what will you do now?”

“Throw it!” Chikorita lowered its head and lifted Helioptile up and over its head, throwing it into the air. “Now, Razor Leaf, full power!” The leaves flew and collided with the small reptile, knocking it back towards Kenny and slamming into the ground with a thud. “Finish it with Tackle!” Chikorita shot forward and slammed into a struggling Helioptile, knocking it back to Kenny’s feet where it slumped over, defeated.

Kenny sighed sadly before returning Helioptile to its Pokeball. “Damn… still, a hard fight Helioptile. We’ll train harder next time.” He looked up at Chloe who was now on her knees in front of Chikorita, petting its leaf and nuzzling it with love like she usually did Beca. Not that she was jealous watching it. Not at all. 

Kenny strolled up to Chloe and Chikorita and smiled, offering a hand up. “Good job, you really are a natural, Chlo. You adapted, and even used something I did against me. You’ll do really well in the future, I’m sure.” He reached into his pack and pulled out what looked like a cartridge. “This is a TM, it’ll teach a Pokemon a move, and its reusable. This has Hidden Power in it. I figured you could use it on any Pokemon you want, it can really be a card up your sleeve depending on what type of hidden power the Pokemon has. You beat me, so let this be the reward, huh?”

Chloe took it reverently and the gathered Kenny in a tight hug. He chuckled and smiled at Beca. “You guys take good care of each other? Please? I worry about both of you.”

Beca nodded, her eyes not leaving Chloe. “Nothing will happen to her. Promise.” Noibat let out another happy bass hum from its ears, rumbling in her chest pleasantly from her shoulder, a tickling sensation around Beca’s neck as he nuzzled her. She bit out a small laugh at it, her hand reaching up to scratch her Pokemon. 

Chloe hopped up and down next to Kenny and nodded. “I will take care of her. She’s small enough to fit in my backpack if she’s uncooperative.” Beca gave her the finger while Kenny laughed his annoying ass off. Chloe beamed at her, moving over to press a kiss to the side of her head. Noibat looked over at the redhead and tilted his head while Beca tried to fight off the blush that was coming over her.

Kenny gave Beca a knowing look before having some mercy on her and gesturing down the road out of town. “So? What are you waiting for? Get started!”

Chloe reached down and grabbed Beca’s hand, returning Chikorita to its Pokeball. She started pulling Beca’s arm down the road with an excited gleam in her eyes. Beca barely had enough time to scramble for Noibat’s Pokeball and return it and wave to her brother goodbye before her little fiery redhead dragged her off on her very own adventure. 

Little known to her, her brother stood there watching them disappear down the road with a small smirk. “Oh Beca, you and Chloe are going to be together for a long while on this journey. And I get a sense that you’re more of a trainer than you think you are.” He chuckled to himself. “Good luck with that huge crush, little sister.”


	2. Chloe's Firsts (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe's early journey and two of her big firsts as she starts off to become a successful Pokemon Trainer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! So, I got some positive feedback on the first story and also I loved writing it and I usually only write 1k words per chapter but this story has me cranking them out 5k per chapter and I love it! It's so much fun to get lost in this world. I'll be skipping around a bit and decided that I'm not going to do day to day stuff with them. I'll be focusing on new captures, developments in their relationship, and some of the Gym battles! I'll also take this to other regions cause I'm playing Pokemon Moon right now for the first time and I'm loving Alola and I'd love to see Chloe with some of those Pokemon and soaking up the island sun!
> 
> Anyway, here is the first part of a two parter: Chloe's first, detailing her first capture, and her first gym battle in the second chapter that I'll be putting out soon! Enjoy!

Beca was surprised when they made it to Cherrygrove City without Chloe exploding from giddiness. In fact, Chloe had been rather reserved since her battle against Kenny, obviously in thought. Of course, “reserved” Chloe was akin to any other person at their most hyper. She had been bouncing around, pointing out the Pidgey in the trees, or the Sentret popping out of the grass. When Beca asked why Chloe didn’t try for her first capture, she had frowned in thought before replying.

“I guess it’s just my first capture. It’ll be my first new friend that I make on this adventure, so I want it to be special, and I think I won’t know it until I see the Pokemon that it’s supposed to be.” She gave Beca a shy look. “Does that make sense?”

It didn’t, but she nodded anyway. It was Chloe’s journey, so she could set her own pace, but it wasn’t hard to see Chloe raising any Pokemon. A cute Sentret would be a perfect second companion for her, but she didn’t seem interested. Maybe it was because these were the Pokemon they saw every day in the fields behind their houses. Maybe she just wanted to get further out to see her options. But whatever it was, Beca let her have it.

They stopped at the Pokemon Center in Cherrygrove for a bit, just to get a check up on both of their Pokemon in earnest. The next city after this one was Violet City, and while it wasn’t too far, only a couple of days journey if they didn’t stop a lot, Chloe was going to be spending a lot of time training, capturing, and battling between here and there. It wouldn’t hurt to make sure her Chikorita was in tiptop shape. And since Beca now had her own Pokemon, boy did that feel weird to say, she supposes she should be responsible and get Noibat checked up too.

So here they were in the Pokemon Center waiting room, as both of their Pokemon were in the check up room with Nurse Joy. Beca had her headphones on, listening for any mistakes in one of the mixes she planned to show the owner of the Bellsprout Corner. It was the local teenage hang out and club spot that seemed up her alley. She was so in the mix that she didn’t even realize that Chloe was trying to gain her attention until she tapped her on the shoulder. Beca looked up and gave her a sheepish smile, but Chloe was used to this, and never held it against her even though a lot of other people, especially her father, thought it was a rude habit. Chloe understood her mindset when it came to music and didn’t fault her for losing herself in it. And because of her understanding, Beca had never minded putting her music on pause or taking her headphones off for the redhead. She always minded when it was anyone else, but not with her.

“You know, it might not be a bad idea when you’re done to pull up the Pokedex app on your phone. Noibat has some cool stuff to look through, and I bet it could tell you more about how its ears work, so you can put it to good work with your equipment.” She beamed at Beca, flapping her hands up and down excitedly. “I can’t believe you have a Pokemon! We have to at least have a practice battle after we get to Violet City! Please?” Beca tried to look away before her eyes went wide in that way that Beca could never say no to. Damn stupid crush. Sadly, she didn’t and watched the full effect of the wide blue eyes and the pout that her lower lip made as she clasped her hands in front of her.

Beca sighed. “Fine. We will battle when we stop in Violet City. Maybe I’ll even like it. I certainly like the thought of Noibat being mine more than I thought I would already.”

“Well that’s good to hear!” Beca turned around to see Nurse Joy with both her and Chloe’s Pokeballs. She offered them over to both of them as she beamed. “They are both in phenomenal health! Make sure to buy some Potions and supplies at the Poke Mart before you head out though, in case of emergencies.”

They both gave their thanks and took their Pokeballs, clipping them to their belts. Beca then remembered what Chloe had said and took Noibat’s ball and tossed it up, letting him pop out with a happy cry. He landed on her shoulder, nuzzling her a little and hiding in her hair. She didn’t even know she was smiling until Chloe made an exaggerated “AW!” sound. She glared at her best friend, who didn’t look sorry in the least. She instead just reached out to Noibat, who leaned into her affections. It seemed that he took after his new owner in liking the redhead without trying.

“You’re so cute, Noibat!” She felt the Dragon type purr in response. Chloe looked up at Beca and winked, “After all, they say Pokemon start to take after their owners.”

Beca felt the heat bloom on her cheeks, already running down her neck. She scrambled for her phone and coughed. “Let’s do the app thing and see what moves he knows and if it’s got any good information.” She opened her lock screen, tapping on the Pokedex app. She didn’t know she’d be a trainer, but as soon as she found out that they were going on a journey where some crazy Pokemon could jump out and attack them, she downloaded it so she could be in the know if they needed to turn tail and run.

It came up, and she tapped the scan tab that used the camera in her phone to scan whatever Pokemon that it was and pull it from the database for her to read. It took a moment but Noibat popped up. Beca read through all the information that it provided. It ranged from its average species height and weight to what moves it was known to learn, and even what it would evolve into when it grew strong enough. There were a couple of tidbits of information that Beca didn’t know and that her brother hadn’t told her. For one, Noibat loved fruit; it could determine ripe ones from blasting its ultrasonic waves at different trees and bushes.

“Aw, that’s so cute, your Noibat is shorter than the average, just like you.” Beca scoffed and smacked her best friend’s arm as she cackled, even Noibat seemed to narrow his eyes at the redhead. But Chloe, being the fairy tale princess she was, rubbed him under his ears and he sighed happily, leaning into her. Huh, maybe Chloe had the right idea when she said that Pokemon take after their owners, cause that seemed almost too similar to exchanges that Beca had with Chloe almost every day.

“Great, he already likes you better than me.” Beca murmured, half joking. She knew that Chloe would be a better trainer for Noibat to get stronger, but at the same time, Beca liked the idea of having a Pokemon around. One that could help her with her dream, so she wanted Noibat to like her as well.

“That’s not true. He only perches on your shoulder.” Chloe grabbed Beca’s phone and scrolled through more data that popped up. “Alright, looks like he knows: Supersonic, Leech Life, Bite, Wing Attack, Gust, and Agility. A good move set that’ll really help us through the early stages of our journey.” Beca patted Noibat’s head, praising him on knowing some helpful stuff. “One thing I remember about Noibats from school is that they don’t learn any Dragon type moves until they evolve.”

Beca grabbed the phone back and pulled up Noibat’s evolved form, Noivern. “Wow… he gets a little bigger, huh?” She looked up at Noibat. “No more perching on Beca’s shoulder when you evolve.” Noibat seemed to chuckle self deprecatingly. Beca smiled at him and scratched him under the chin. I should pick up some fruit for him too. It’ll last us until Violet City, and if any of it goes bad, he can find his own easily enough.”

Chloe beamed, seemingly happy that Beca was taking such responsibility, or maybe it was simply because they now shared another thing in common, being Pokemon trainers. “Yeah, let’s go and then we’ll head out and camp our first night under the stars!” She grabbed Beca’s hand and dragged her a Noibat out the door.

 

That night Beca found herself sitting on a log that they’d pulled into the circle of their campsite. It had been an eventful day after they’d left Cherrygrove. Chloe had battled with Chikorita against about five wandering trainers. She’d won four of the five, only losing the fifth because the person was using a Vulpix. It had used Ember and Chikorita was a goner against the fire attack. Chloe had been a good sport, thanking the trainer for the battle, offering some of the money she’d won as a prize and asking if she could pet the Vulpix, cause “It was so cute, Becs!”

They’d had a really good time, chatting as usual as they walked, Chloe pointing out the different Pokemon on this Route than the previous one. She’d pointed out some Bellsprout and a couple Spinarak, and even a small Weedle that Beca had to squint to make out against a far away tree. Nothing had captured either of their interests for capturing any Pokemon. Beca had liked the look of Spinarak, but wasn’t sure she could even take care of Noibat yet. She didn’t want to get presumptuous and then have two Pokemon hate her instead of just one, so she tamped down the feeling inside of her telling her to battle with Noibat. Chloe seemed to be happy to just giggle with Chikorita and Beca as they walked together, and that hadn’t changed when they set up camp.

Chloe and Chikorita had been on firewood duty, as Chikorita’s Razor Leaf made that easy. Beca had set up the sleeping bags and cleared all the rocks and sticks that might make their stay more uncomfortable. She also cooked when Chloe and Chikorita arrived back at camp. They’d had a decent meal, Beca was good enough of a cook for both of them, and had settled down into easy discussion while Beca had pulled her laptop out to half heartedly work on her mixes, one earphone of her headphones off the ear that was directed at Chloe so they could still talk.

Now, Chloe had broken off to heal Chikorita’s wounds from the last battle and train with Chikorita on using Sweet Scent, a move Chikorita could learn, and apparently already had the basics down for purely from its biology. Noibat was taking turns between looking at Beca’s laptop screen, seated just behind her hands as they typed, and the fake battle that Chloe and Chikorita had.

Beca looked down at the small dragon and smiled. “Hey, Noibat.” It looked up at her. “Wanna listen?”

Noibat tilted its head, like it didn’t understand. Beca scoffed at herself. Pokemon didn’t know mixing, she’d have to show rather than tell, even though that was hard for her. She showed Chloe and her brother her mixes, but even that had taken some time to do. It was different to play at a school party with finished mixes than sitting alone in your room with a person that means a lot to you, staring at you in silence while they listen to something you made. It made Beca extremely anxious waiting to know if they liked it, and even then, what if they were lying?

Beca unplugged her headphones, and then tapped the space bar. Music began to pour out; a pop punk mash up she’d done a couple years ago. She still loved the genre, but back then she’d been obsessed. The opening drums and guitar sounds from New Found Glory’s ‘My Friends Over You’ played.

Noibat stared at her computer in surprise. Then, slowly, as the song built, some of the added layers that Beca put in herself from other songs, and distortions she’d added in to other places, Noibat began to bob his head to the beat. And then to Beca’s surprise, Noibat’s ears let out that hum, but it seemed to match the bass line that was playing in the background of the song. Beca smiled, hoping that meant that Noibat liked what he heard. As the song filtered out Noibat turned around and chirped happily, his ears buzzing a pleasant thrum in her chest.

“You like it?” Noibat nodded and gestured to the computer again. Beca chuckled and picked a different song, letting it quietly play between them, as Noibat seemed to try to replicate bass lines to each one. She didn’t realize they had an audience, as the songs had been playing quietly, until they’d gone through about seven of the songs, getting a positive response from Noibat for each one.

“You guys are so freaking cute, Beca. Pokemon trainer looks good on you.”  
Beca startled up to see Chloe, Chikorita folded in her arms before her. She gave Chloe a small smile. “Yeah?”

“For sure. I can tell you’re worried about screwing it up. Don’t be too tough on yourself. You’re a better caretaker than you think. Remember how you were after my dad died?”

Beca did remember. It was a surreal kind of experience that you don’t get to live through too often, not that you’d want to have it happen often. To have a friend come to you before anyone else and just you being yourself helps keep them together when nothing else will. When Chloe had burst into her room in tears, they had bypassed knocking on each other’s front doors, and room doors for that matter, a long time ago, she had expected boy trouble, or a fight with her parents. But Chloe had thrown herself on Beca, curling in on herself and choking out that her dad was just gone. Beca hadn’t known what to do; she wasn’t versed well in handling these things. But, she did know what Chloe liked from being friends with her for this long. She’d wrapped the girl up, being the big spoon for once, and holding her for a full sixteen hours. Chloe still hadn’t been anywhere near okay for a long while after that, but it was Beca’s hand she held at the funeral and Beca’s house she stayed at for a couple days so that she didn’t have to go home to a house that no longer had one of it’s central pieces in it anymore. Chloe had also admitted that she didn’t want to be around her mom, since the older Beale was really pushing down her own emotions and worrying about her daughter. Chloe knew her mom needed to deal with the death herself so they could go back to whatever the new normal would be with one another, and Beca’s dad had been surprisingly amenable, which Beca was secretly thankful for.

The point was, Beca remembered it because that entire time Beca thought she was being an awful friend. She didn’t have anything to say. She couldn’t even manage an I’m sorry for your loss. But, apparently, listening and not responding, being there to hold was exactly what Chloe needed.

“Just be yourself, feed him, and you’ll be fine. Don’t stress.” She squeezed Beca’s shoulder and Beca felt herself relax. Chloe reached down to pet Noibat but froze, her eyes somewhere behind Beca.

“What is it?”

“Lights… They’re beautiful.” Chloe gestured at Beca, who when she turned around saw exactly what she was talking about. Through a couple trees, in the darkness, was a couple of lazily flashing lights. There were at least five different ones that Beca could make out for sure.

“What are they?”

Chloe didn’t answer, only pulled her and Noibat along with her as she went to investigate. As they got closer, they saw it was coming from the trunk of a tree, more specifically a Pokemon on the trunk of the tree. It was a Ledyba. On it’s back it had five black spots that could light up in the dark to communicate. It was flashing them lazily as it hung to the trunk of the tree. She looked at Chloe, her eyes shining in glee at the light show they were getting. Beca knew what she was going to say before she said it.

“I want to catch it.”

Beca chuckled. She stepped back, allowing Chloe to do what she needed. First, Chloe pulled out her phone, unlocking the Pokedex app and scanning the bug Pokemon in the dark. Beca couldn’t see her face from here, but before she could question her on what was taking too long, she saw Chloe step forward. She got three feet away from the Pokemon before it noticed her. Chloe’s steps were sure, but soft and silent.

Ledyba seized up and looked absolutely terrified. Its antennae quivered and a weird aroma hit the air that made Beca want to gag a bit. Chloe seemed unaffected by it at all and stooped down until she was eye to eye with the Pokemon. Beca covered her nose and stepped closer to them so she could hear what was being said.

“Hi, I’m Chloe.” She waved her phone in her hand. “This tells me that you put smells out there based on your emotions. It kinda smells like you might be scared right now.” She pouted at the Pokemon. Beca winced; oh God that thing didn’t stand a chance now. “I’m sorry we made you feel that way. We were attracted cause of your beautiful light show.” The smell in the air changed to something a bit more pleasing, as if the Pokemon was pleased with the praise, but the anxiety was back before she could soak in the smell. Chloe continued, “I also read that the light show can mean that you got separated from your hive, and that you freeze up sometimes when you’re by yourself. I get that. Sometimes I can’t do a lot by myself. I was scared to even go on a journey until I asked Beca to come.” She gestured over to Beca, and she watched the Pokemon’s eyes snap to her. She waved awkwardly, hoping she wasn’t giving off the horrible stench of her anxiety. Chloe hadn’t told her that she was scared before. Maybe it was just for the Ledyba’s benefit? “I was just hoping that you might consider staying with us tonight, or even coming on this journey with me, so you won’t be alone and you won’t be scared anymore.” She offered the Ledyba a heart-stopping smile.

A couple of different smells seemed to swamp the air, all tinged with that anxiety stench. However, they seemed sweeter and more pleasant than before. Beca found herself relaxing a little. The Ledyba still didn’t move though. Chloe sighed, a little dejectedly and moved to rifle through her bag. Chikorita had remained silent through this process, lifting it’s leaf only slightly to try to communicate through smell Beca guessed, but it didn’t seem to be having any effect on the terrified Bug type.

Chloe laid a Pokeball down before the Ledyba. “This is my Pokeball, bring it back to me if you change your mind. We are just through the trees there. You might hear some talking or maybe even some battling, but that’s just us practicing, okay?”

She stood and smiled one last time at it before walking back towards Beca. The smell in the air turned a little sadder, the farther that she got away from it, but Chloe kept walking, gesturing Beca to walk with her. She did and they arrived back at camp.

Chloe kept looking back through the forest, but Ledyba didn’t follow. Beca knew that her friend needed a distraction so that she didn’t think of the anxious bug that they had left in the woods to make a decision that Chloe would never force upon it. Beca knew that any Pokemon like that, where it was scared instead of hostile, wouldn’t ever be Chloe’s pick for a battle. So, Beca looks at Noibat and nods to him.

“Chloe, wanna have that practice battle now? I feel like I should get used to ordering attacks from Noibat.” She bit her lip and tried for a cocky smirk. “Plus, Flying type moves against your grass type, an easy first win for Beca and Noibat.”

That seemed to snap Chloe out of her haze and she gave Beca a competitive smile. “Cockiness looks better on your brother than you, Mitchell. You’re on!” Distraction is successful; well done, Mitchell.

They paced out some steps for the battlefield and settled into a stance, while their Pokemon looked ready to go. Noibat was flapping its tiny wings about halfway between Beca and where Chikorita stood, but he was up high, near the tops of the trees around them. Beca could use that, as well as the darkness of the night to really give herself the advantage. Noibat could use its ears and sonar to find Chikorita even if clouds covered the moon. Chikorita had to rely on its sight.

Beca could feel herself getting excited for this, even though she never thought that it’d be something up her alley. She was excited to show to Noibat that their partnership went both ways. It obviously looked like it had been waiting for a battle for a while, and if Beca wanted him to help her with her dreams, it wouldn’t be too hard to take the time out of her schedule to do the same for him.

“Ready, Becs? I’m gonna go two for two with Mitchells!”

“Yeah, well, I was always the better of the two. You got no chance in hell!”

Chloe seemed to take the initiative. “Chikorita, Razor Leaf!”

Beca tried to keep her breathing calm. She hadn’t done this before, but there was no sense in letting Noibat get hurt just so she could wallow in being unsure of herself. Chloe expected her to try, so she’d push down the discomfort that she felt and do what she needed to. “Use Gust to push the leaves back!”

Noibat responded immediately, flapping his little wings to slow the leaves down, having them float down as they lost their spin and momentum. Then it zipped around in the air, seeming to taunt Chikorita.

Chloe hummed, impressed with the power of the Flying type move. “Chikorita use Sweet Scent like we practiced!” A scent hit the air that even had Beca wanting to curl up in her sleeping bag, and Noibat didn’t look too different than she felt. She needed to fight through and say something.

“Use Leech Life! Then Wing Attack!” Both moves would be super effective against a Grass type like Chikorita. When Noibat used the Leech Life move, Beca could tell that it was slower than what he would normally do, as he was still moving sluggishly from the Sweet Scent. However, it did hit, the needle shining a bit as it made its journey from Noibat to Chikorita.

It cried out as it’s energy was drained and that seemed to speed Noibat back up enough from the sluggishness to dive in quickly and give a powerful Wing Attack that sent Chikorita almost all the way back to Chloe’s feet.

“Are you okay, Chikorita?” The small Pokemon hopped back up and nodded, jumping forward a few paces ready to fight again. “Good, use Razor Leaf all around you!”   
The leaf swung to and fro in an effort to get dozens of razor sharp, spinning leaves circulating the battlefield, boxing Noibat in, and striking it as each leaf spun out of control. Noibat called out as it was struck over and over again.

Beca didn’t know what to do! She was trapped and this was her first battle and she was just completely at a loss. She wasn’t used to thinking tactically on the fly like Chloe had been training to do since she was little. She bit her lip worriedly and her mind raced for some way to win this still.

Like an answer to her prayer, a cloud passed over the moon, drawing her attention, as it plunged them and the battlefield into darkness. “Noibat, close your eyes and disappear!” The glowing eyes of the Pokemon were cut off, leaving Chikorita’s eyesight completely useless. “Now, use Gust to blow the leaves away and then switch positions and hide!” She felt the Gust roar from a point in the darkness and the leaves stopped their motions from what she could tell. She had them right where she wanted them. “Use Supersonic to locate Chikorita!” She waited a beat, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to hear the attack, but she assumed that Noibat had Chikorita in its sights by now. “Now, dive from different angles! Wing Attack!”

Noibat reacted immediately based on the cry of pain from Chikorita as the attacks hit over and over. Finally the cloud cover disappeared, showing the entire battlefield again to show Chikorita barely able to stand upright from all the damage, while Noibat simply was puffing from all the quick movements it had done.

Chloe giggled and waved her arm. “That’s enough of a practice battle tonight, I think.” She leaned down to pet Chikorita who relaxed into her touch already. “You really gave it to us, though I think we had you until the moon was gone.” She gave Beca that little competitive glare. “Going against a Flying type was good practice for Falkner though, and we appreciate it, right Chikorita.” The Leaf Pokemon chirped and smiled tiredly up at Beca.

“Good. I can’t believe that we did it… maybe it was just beginner’s luck.” But Chloe was already shaking her head.

“No way. You’re a natural. I think you could definitely battle on the side of your music career as a hobby. You’d be good and Noibat, especially when you guys train a lot, will be hard to stop!” Chloe gave Noibat a pat on the head affectionately while the Sound Wave Pokemon released a pleasing hum from its ears.

It was a nice intimate moment between them. Chloe’s shampoo hitting Beca’s nose and making her heart jump a bit in her chest as she realized how close they were to one another. The moon was shining off of Chloe’s hair and making her beauty look completely ethereal. Beca could tell her eyes were glancing a Chloe’s lips, and she felt a slight pull as she leaned forward, her body responding without her brain’s permission. She felt Chloe stiffen, and immediately threw herself away from her and opened her mouth to apologize before she realized that Chloe was looking down at something.

It was Chloe’s Pokeball from before. It had rolled against the outside of her foot. Beca thanked every deity out there that it hadn’t been because of her. She would have ruined their journey on the first day cause she couldn’t keep her stupid crush a damn secret. Chloe leaned down to pick it up, before raising her eyes and seeing that same Ledyba from earlier staring back at her from near their campsite. It looked a little freaked out now that it had both of their attentions but Chloe looked absolutely ecstatic and squealed silently so as not to freak the anxious Bug type out.

She stepped closer, and Beca let her do this alone. Too many people would freak it out. She watched as Chloe crouched down, and strained her ears to hear what she said.

“Hi, Ledyba. Did you decide you wanted to come with me?” The Bug type nodded and shuffled closely, lifting two of its legs up for Chloe to shake. She giggled and did so.

“I’m glad! We can be there for you so you don’t have to be scared or alone anymore! And you can get stronger!” She grinned at it, and it gave her a nervous one back, but that was still progress. “Did you see Chikorita and I battle?” The Bug type nodded. “And do you think that you and I can train and do that together?”

This was the moment of truth. Ledyba could want to come with Chloe and wouldn’t want to battle. Chloe would never make it either, but it might be a blow to her confidence. However, before Beca could worry too much, Ledyba nodded nervously. Chloe gave it a soft and affectionate rub on its head between its antennae. It sighed and relaxed a little into her hand. The scent that hit the air was similar to the one from when Chikorita had used its Sweet Scent. Beca smiled at how much tentative happiness she could tell just from that scent. “You wanna conquer that fear huh?” It nodded. “Well, I’m here to help as much as I can.” She offered the Pokeball out to Ledyba and smiled softly. “Tap the center, but if you’re not sure, I’m not gonna make you. I think you’re great and I’d be happy to have you on my team, plus the lights and the scents you can create are amazing. I can just feel in my heart that you and I are meant to work together, Ledyba, but I won’t do this unless you really want it.”

The Bug type looked hard at her before tapping the ball with one of its fist sized feet and got sucked into the red and white capsule in a shimmering light. It shook once before dinging a successful capture. Chloe looked at the ball and Beca could tell by the slightly shaking hands of her best friend that she was containing the exuberance she actually felt for her first capture. It took her all of five seconds to lose that battle to herself and squeal, running at Beca, and jump into her arms for an enthusiastic hug. Noibat had ditched her shoulder as soon as she lunged for Beca, leaving her the only one who took the spill onto the ground. Traitor.

Chloe was effectively straddling her, leaving Beca looking up to her a blushing mess, but the smile on Chloe’s face was too bright and perfect not to return. “You did it. Congrats, Chlo.” Beca meant every word.

Chloe nodded happily. “Now to start really training!” She threw the ball up to reveal Ledyba. It seemed to buzz happily and released that same sweet smelling aroma, but still stayed clear of Beca as much as it could. Both Chikorita and Noibat went over to say hello and seemed to become fast friends with the anxious bug, who didn’t know what to do with all the acceptance that it was shown this early into being part of the team.

After that, Chloe and Beca both used some of their supplies to heal Chikorita and Noibat before getting everyone ready to camp under the stars. Beca had stationed their sleeping bags on opposite sides of the fire, but she turned from what she was doing to check on Chloe to find her dragging them close together and Beca knew that most of her warmth would be from the cuddling that would be forced on her soon enough.

Sure enough as they doused the fire and settled down, their Pokemon asleep in their Pokeballs, Chloe pushed herself up against Beca’s side and sighed. Beca waited a bit before turning over to wrap her arms around Chloe, knowing that the redhead had a smug smirk on her face, though she was turned away from her, that Beca was so well trained to do this without her having to ask.

After Chloe’s breathing had evened out a bit and Beca thought she was asleep, she leaned over and pressed a kiss to the side of her head, whispering into her ear. “I’m proud of you, Chlo. You did so good.” And as Beca snuggled down into her sleeping bag, arms around Chloe, and pressed into her back. She couldn’t see that Chloe still had her eyes wide, blush on her face, and a small content smile on her face before drifting off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, you made it! So, a little bit more flirting and a blush from Chloe eh?
> 
> Ledyba wasn't a hard choice for Chloe. It's one of the earliest Pokemon you can catch in Johto and it is an homage to her Ladybug tattoo.
> 
> I hope you like that choice for her, and I hope that I can keep each of their new Pokemon with its own personality enough to be interesting!
> 
> If you have any questions for me, or any requests of what to see from these two's journey, please let me know in the comment section or on tumblr @icameasahoplite
> 
> I'll see you soon!


	3. Chloe's Firsts (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe's first Gym Battle comes with a lot of nervousness by our favorite redhead. Luckily, Beca is there to make sure that Chloe knows that her number one fan will always be Beca.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! So, as you might notice, I've changed the formatting for these stories and instead of doing a series of separate fics, I'm gonna put them all here. The title is a reference to the Pokemon Johto theme song so I say it fits all chapters that I will be doing quite well, and this story was getting more hits and kudos, so I thought it might be easier to keep it in one place so people didn't get lost or confused.
> 
> Anyway, this is Chloe's first Gym Battle against Falkner! I tried to do a mix of anime and game for his team, as well as how strong he appears. I hope you enjoy it!

Beca found out that a lot could happen in a few days. Chloe had been working herself and her Pokemon non stop, inspired by her first capture, and it was tiring even Beca out just to watch them train whenever they took a break from walking. They’d run into several more trainers too, all of them challenging them to a battle. Chloe took on most of them, but Beca had felt a little more confident after her practice battle with Chloe and took on two of them, winning them both.

That wasn’t all that happened either, as they took a peek inside of Dark Cave (a stupid name in Beca’s opinion) to have a look around, on Chloe’s insistence of course, and had gotten caught in a swarm of Zubats that they had accidentally frightened. They’d gotten a couple bites that hurt a lot before Ledyba and Noibat, coming out of their Pokeballs without prompting, protected them. The shy bug type had come leaps and bounds just in a couple days. Seems it was more confident while in a pack, even if its pack was two humans, a Noibat, and a Chikorita. It paid off that on the fourth day, during that horrifying cave incident that Ledyba evolved before their eyes to defend them, using Reflect to guard them until the swarm passed them over. The new Ledian was immediately swamped in a hug by its overexcited trainer, and they’d been practicing getting used to its new body ever since.

It was only a day later that they trekked into Violet City and were able to stay in an actual bed at the Pokemon Center. They’d used the battlefield out back of the Center to continue their training. The first day that they woke up in Violet City, Chloe had been so excited for her first official Gym battle with Falkner that she’d dragged Beca out of bed at eight in the morning and ran to the Gym at the center of town. When they arrived, it turned out that because it was the first stop for most trainers in their corner of Johto, it was booked up for the next couple of days. Chloe had been despondent over the news, and Beca tried to cheer her up by telling her that they’d train together at the Pokemon Center, and that Beca had information to get from the club she intended to play at here in Violet City: Bellsprout Corner.

Getting ahold of the club owner was tougher than she thought, so that was put on hold while she focused on helping Chloe prepare for the first Gym battle. A little bit of asking around the Pokemon Center didn’t reveal that much more about Falkner than they already knew. He was a Gym leader that focused on Flying type Pokemon. Gym leaders were like that. They were supposed to be pit stops on a trainer’s journey. They didn’t just train the one type, but they chose one that they liked and only used Pokemon that they had of that type so that trainers could practice and learn when it came to those official Gym battles. They also chose which of those Pokemon to use based on the experience of the trainer that was challenging them. Because this was Chloe’s first Gym battle, Falkner would most likely use a few of his newer or weaker Flying types.

This didn’t necessarily guarantee a win for Chloe either, as they both were well aware, Falkner’s Flying type Pokemon would have a big advantage over both of Chloe’s Pokemon who were Grass and Bug types. This didn’t seem to deter Chloe as she simply asked Beca and Noibat to train with them using different flying maneuvers and attacks. 

As the long days passed, Chikorita could hit things in the air while they were on the move with stunning accuracy. Ledian’s speed was so impressive, that Noibat had trouble locating it, even with its ultrasonic sound waves, and the speed that came from it’s arms as it used Mach Punch were too much to keep up with. However, Beca was still rather inexperienced, though she was growing in confidence and trust with her Pokemon, but she just didn’t have the same honed edges that a Gym Leader would.

One particular evening, on the night before her scheduled battle. They actually ran into Aubrey Posen from their hometown. She expressed surprise that they were still there, but invited them to sit with her and catch up on their adventure so far. After they had told their story, Chloe doing most of the talking. Aubrey told them that she had just finished her Gym battle with Falkner that morning. She had won, but it had been hard, even though she had been thorough in her research, walked a bit past Violet City and caught an Electric type in Mareep. 

When Chloe had asked to see Aubrey’s Pokemon, Aubrey had obliged and brought out her Totodile and Mareep. Chloe had squealed at how they were both adorable and so very strong. Even Beca had to admit that they were both well taken care of from the looks of them. Aubrey told them a place where Mareep were often seen, just passed the outskirts of the city but Chloe had shaken her head. 

“I need to feel that connection with a Pokemon to capture it. I know I can win with Chikorita and Ledian.” Aubrey had seemed somewhat doubtful, but quickly cheered up when Chloe had asked if she wouldn’t mind battling her so she can get in one more practice before Falkner. Aubrey had easily accepted and that led to her watching Aubrey and Chloe duke it out, trying not to feel jealous at how into it Chloe was.

It wasn’t Chloe’s fault that Beca had a huge, massive crush on her. And it wasn’t her fault for enjoying a battle with another friend of hers. That didn’t make her scowl any less when Aubrey and Chloe shouted compliments and challenges to each other over the battlefield. The only things that were keeping her somewhat calm was Noibat’s ever present nuzzling against her cheek from where he sat on her shoulder, and writing down possible mash ups to do later on a pad of paper. She scratched under his chin and actually smiled, forgetting her dumb jealousy. 

“Chikorita, Razor Leaf one more time!” The leaves impacted Totodile, who was on his last legs as is, and it slumped back near Aubrey’s trainer box. Aubrey sighed sadly and recalled Totodile. She stepped up to Chloe who was congratulating Chikorita.

“You did good, Chloe. Your Pokemon are really fast and they’ll need to be to keep up with Falkner. I know if anyone can pull it off with a type disadvantage, then you can.” She offered her hand to Chloe and Chloe took it, pulling her in for a hug. The pencil that Beca was fiddling with cracked a bit as she squeezed her fist, but she rolled the tension from her shoulders and stood up.

She walked up to Chloe as Aubrey walked away, most likely going to heal her Pokemon and reevaluate her strategy. “Good job, Chloe. You’re starting to look like a pro.”

She beamed at Beca. “Thanks, but Chikorita was doing all the hard work.” Chikorita chirped from their feet and Noibat fluttered down to congratulate his friend. Beca smiled at the interaction between their Pokemon and then turned back to Chloe. 

“You should probably go get them both looked at one more time before tomorrow morning. Then we should get some rest. I’m going to try to leave another message with the owner of that club and see if he’ll get back to me. Meet you in the room tonight?”

Chloe nodded and they separated there. Surprisingly Beca actually got through to the club owner and made an appointment for after Chloe’s Gym battle to meet up and see if she can play for him. She could feel the happy skip in her step after that, but couldn’t bring herself to care too much, as she had her first potential gig! Noibat could sense her happiness and buzzed happily as only he could, making the pleasant feeling in her chest increase.

She reached their room and saw that Chloe was already in there, under the covers of her bed. She was staring at the ceiling quietly, obviously deep in thought. Both of her Pokemon’s Pokeballs were on the desk next to her bed. Beca smirked and grabbed her clothes for a quick shower. She returned Noibat to his Pokeball, putting it on her side of the desk, by her bed. She ran the hot water and stepped in. She felt the still healing wounds from Dark Cave sting a bit as she stepped under it. She didn’t take too long, but she did give herself a bit of time to go over the feelings of jealousy she had felt earlier. 

She had to remind herself that Chloe was her best friend, and yes, that did afford her some reason to be jealous of other friendships, but she did not own Chloe, not even in the friendship sense. She needed to be more proactive in not being such a sourpuss when it came to other people Chloe befriended, especially because it was so many. Chloe was one of the friendliest people that Beca had ever met in her entire life. So this thing with Aubrey wasn’t anything to be concerned about. She just needed to get her head out of that way of thinking before it became something toxic and festering and before Chloe noticed, or she’d quickly deduce that Beca had a crush on her and then… well, Beca didn’t want to think about that.

After she had dried off and dressed for bed. She came out to see Chloe still awake, and looking the littlest bit terrified. Beca frowned and tentatively spoke. “Chloe? Everything okay?”

She bit her lip, her eyes flicking over to Beca before going back to the ceiling. That was all Beca needed to see before her body moved without conscious thought and she was sliding into bed next to Chloe and wrapping her arms around her. Chloe’s body just reacted and sank into her embrace, her face disappearing into the place where her shoulder and neck met. Chloe squeezed her tight and Beca could feel her trembling just the tiniest bit.

She waited a few minutes before she started to relax a bit. “Everything okay?” She repeated her question from before and Chloe finally responded, even though her voice was muffled by Beca’s shoulder. 

“I’ve never been more nervous in my life… what if I let my Pokemon down?” She finally looked up at Beca and the tears that refused to leak from her eyes were clearly visible. “What if I let you down?”

Beca frowned and squeezed Chloe back into her, her cheek resting on her forehead. “You could never let me down. Just give it your all and everything will work out. I’m with you no matter what and so are Chikorita and Ledian. You’re gonna do great, and if you don’t win this time, we’ll stay as long as we need to so you can. But, I think you’re ready.”

Chloe seemed to deflate, as a big rush of air pushed out of her in a relieved sigh. “Thank you… I needed to hear that from you.” Beca tried not to let her mind wander too far on why she was so important. She was just the best friend, no need to take it down that path. Chloe bit her lip and peered up through her lashes at Beca. “Will you sleep here tonight?”

Beca didn’t even have to think of her answer before she made it. “Of course.”

Chloe beamed at her and snuggled down into the mattress, pulling Beca with her, as Chloe settled on her chest and wrapped an arm around her middle. Soon enough, as if all she had needed was Beca in the first place, her breath evened out and she was asleep, air puffing against Beca’s collarbone in a super distracting way.

Beca knew she was in for a long night of more overthinking, before Chloe’s warmness would naturally pull her under into sleep anyway, so she just settled for watching her peaceful face and counting the number of breaths before she let a cute snort out every so often. 

Yeah, she wouldn’t get much sleep, but it was the most content she’d felt since they started on this journey and that more than made up for it.

 

Truthfully Beca couldn’t remember waking up or getting ready that morning. She was exhausted from the night before. Every little puff of Chloe’s breath that hit her neck was like an electric shock that kept her awake most of the night. When she had fallen asleep, it had only seemed that way for a moment before she was being poked awake by an excited redhead, who had no trace of the nervousness she had expressed the night before. Beca had basically slept through her morning routine, leaving her make up and shower up to muscle memory. 

Now, they were both ready and dressed and located out front of the Violet City gym. It was a rather tall building, circling up to a flat top that they had heard was an open arena, so that the Flying type Pokemon that were preferred by Falkner could use it to their benefit. Chloe was looking up at it determinedly and Beca couldn’t help but feed off her energy to be excited as well. She knew that she’d be relegated to watching from the sidelines with Noibat, but it might be a helpful learning experience for both of them, especially with Noibat being a Flying type himself.

They stepped through the double doors; a small desk was before them with a young guy sitting behind it looking at a computer. He looked up and smiled at them. “Hello, welcome to the Violet City Gym. Do you have an appointment?”

Chloe nodded, smiling at the guy, who blushed and avoided eye contact. Beca had to chuckle to herself. ‘Me too, reception guy. Me too.’ Chloe spoke up though, and leaned against the desk. 

“Yes, Chloe Beale. My battle is scheduled at nine, I think.”

The receptionist nodded and clicked a few keys on his keyboard. “Ah, yes. Miss Beale. I’ll tell Falkner that you’re here and he’ll come down and grab you guys from the seating area over there.” He pointed behind them and to the left where a charming little sitting area was placed. It had a television showing a Pokemon documentary, a couple of comfy looking couches, and pictures of Falkner and several Pokemon of his, as well as their Gym license proudly displayed.

They thanked the receptionist and moved over to the seating area, though they didn’t have to wait long. Chloe had barely opened up her Pokedex app to look up some of the Pokemon that Falkner was pictured with, something that might give her an edge if he used any of them, when a blue haired guy with some wrist bands, his hair covering one of his eyes came out calling Chloe’s name. She stood up, wiping her hands on her jeans, the only indication that she was still nervous.

He smiled at both of them, reaching to shake Chloe’s hand. “Hi. I’m Falkner, the Gym Leader here. Let’s walk up to the battlefield and I’ll explain the rules while we walk.” Chloe nodded and began to walk with him, Beca following behind.

Falkner seemed to be a very relaxed guy, strolling as if he had done this a bunch of times, which he probably had, at least for someone so young. “So, as you’ve probably heard, I specialize in Flying type Pokemon. They tend to have a lot of weaknesses, but they are fast and can travel anywhere they want.” He smiled to himself in that way that was completely smitten with the thought of that. “The battlefield is on top of the building so that my Flying Pokemon can move about freely. We do have a couple of large Flying Pokemon circling in case of any accidents and non-Flying types tumble off the ledge, so no worries there.”

He glanced down at Chloe and then Beca. “Are you both hoping to challenge eventually? I’m sorry I can’t fit both of you in on the same morning, this is a busy month for this Gym.”

Beca shook her head. “Oh, no. I’m just here as support. I’m a DJ hoping to play at the Bellsprout Corner later this week. I’m also a trainer… kinda, just not doing the Gym challenge.”

Falkner smiled, “Oh, well, she’s lucky to have you cheering her on, then. And, I wish you luck at the Corner. I used to love going there as a teenager.” He frowned for a moment. “There has been a lot of rumors recently, though. Might want to ask around about them before you go so you aren’t blindsided.”

Beca frowned. Rumors? What the hell did that mean. She meant to ask what he meant, but they entered out the door and into the morning light again to see a large battlefield that took up the whole roof. Falkner brought Chloe and Beca to the center. There was a man in a striped shirt standing off to the side, ready to referee their match. Falkner smiled at Chloe. “So, I take it this is your first Gym challenge?” At Chloe’s nod, he unclipped two Pokeballs from his belt. “Then in our match you will face two of my Pokemon with your whole team. You are allowed to switch out whenever you wish, but I cannot. Standard rules so first to knock out the other’s team, wins. Is that acceptable?”

Chloe grinned. “A two on two Pokemon battle. Sounds like fun!” 

Falkner chuckled at her enthusiasm and turned to Beca. “You can watch from just behind the ref. Cheering is obviously encouraged, but keep it civil.” He put on a faux look of hurt, “I am rather fragile.”

Chloe let out a little laugh, while Beca just smirked. She stepped in close to Chloe as they walked back to her side of the battlefield. She squeezed Chloe close and whispered low. “You got this, Chlo. We’ll be cheering for you. And we’re on your side, no matter what happens.”

Chloe gave her that soft look that so often happened when Beca allowed herself to be a little mushy. “Thanks, Becs.” She murmured and squeezed her back. And that was where Beca left her to go to the sidelines. She called out Noibat as well, who fluttered down onto her shoulder and looked at the battlefield curiously. Beca quietly filled him in while Falkner and Chloe readied themselves, now facing one another.

“Ready, Chloe?”

She grinned, taking one of her Pokeballs in preparation. “Born ready!”

He chuckled taking his own Pokeball and looking at it. “I’ll send my Pokemon out first. I choose, Hoothoot!” He threw the Pokeball out to the middle of the battlefield; it popped open in a shower of the telltale blue energy. A small owl like Pokemon appeared. Its eyes were large, round, and red. It had black plumage that stuck up from its face. Its body was round, one leg poking out of it to keep it upright, while it’s little wings flapped. It called its name and settled down, looking ready to attack whatever Chloe’s Pokemon was. 

Beca and Chloe reached for their phones to access the Pokedex app and see if anything on it could tell them any advantage they could use against Hoothoot. Sadly it only mentioned how Hoothoot only used one foot, switching between them so fast it can be barely seen. It also had an organ that kept track of the earth’s rotation allowing it a perfect sense of time, so much so that the ancients used it as a clock. There was nothing that really helped Chloe in her planning.

Chloe threw her Pokeball before she could think twice, Chikorita popping out of it, looking pumped up and ready to battle. Falkner tilted his head. “A Grass type… are you sure?”

The redhead smirked, “Don’t you worry about me.” 

Falkner chuckled, “Fair enough. Since you are the challenger you may have the initiative.” 

Chloe didn’t need to be told twice. “Chikorita, Vine Whip!”

Vines shot from Chikorita’s neck and went after Hoothoot. Falkner didn’t seem fazed in the slightest. “Hoothoot, use Confusion and knock them off course.”

The Owl Pokemon’s eyes closed, only to open with a blue ethereal light. The light seemed to overtake Chikorita’s vines and send them to either side of Hoothoot, letting it avoid any damage. A Psychic type move, also super effective against Grass types. If Hoothoot knew that, plus any more Flying type moves then Chloe’s entire team was in big trouble. 

Chloe didn’t seem thrown off in the slightest. She quickly called out another move. “Razor Leaf!” The leaves shot out from under Chikorita’s leaf and flew towards Hoothoot. Instead of dropping the vines with its Confusion and stopping the Razor Leaf attack, which Beca assumed Chloe thought would free up at least one of her attacks to hit, Hoothoot took off with it’s tiny wings and dodged the sharp leaves.

“A nice attempt, but Hoothoot and I trained out of that the first couple of times trainers took advantage of Confusion’s limits.” Chikorita’s vines retracted and it growled in frustration, just as Chloe seemed to be doing. “What will you do now? Hoothoot, Peck!”

The Owl Pokemon dove at Chikorita, but that made Chloe’s frustration turn into a smirk. “Chikorita, leaf shield.” Beca frowned, that wasn’t an attack that she knew of. It only took a moment before it clicked. That defensive maneuver that she’d learned and used against Kenny was what she was talking about. Apparently she’d named it leaf shield. It had thrown Falkner off too, as he was startled and unable to call out anything to Hoothoot, as it flew towards Chikorita who was now hunkered down behind its large leaf. Hoothoot struck the leaf and effectively bounced off and tumbled back, now out of the air and vulnerable. “Chikorita, Vine Whip; ground it!” The vines shot forward from behind the leaf and wrapped around Hoothoot, squeezing and injuring the small bird. 

Falkner growled and called out for another Confusion attack. The blue light started to take over the vines, but it seemed that Chloe was even more prepared this time around. “Razor Leaf!” This time, the vines were taking too long to untangle, and Hoothoot, still couldn’t move, so the Razor Leaf struck true and Hoothoot was hurled back. “Now, Poisonpowder!” 

The purple dust covered the poor Owl Pokemon and it groaned in pain. Chloe grinned victoriously, as did Chikorita. Hoothoot struggled to get up. Those were both big hits, and now, with Poisonpowder, it would slowly whittle away at its ability to fight until it collapsed. So why didn’t Falkner seem more worried? “Hoothoot, Psycho Shift!”  
Beca frowned, as Hoothoot’s eyes glowed blue again and it immediately looked healthier. They didn’t realize what had truly happened until Chikorita coughed. It looked completely ill. Chloe got a look of panic on her face as Falkner smirked. “Psycho Shift lets whatever status condition Hoothoot has be transferred to his opponent. Tough break. Hoothoot, Peck!”

Chikorita was noticeably slower on the defense now, as Peck after Peck landed and damaged it. Chloe desperately called out Tackle attacks, but because of the poison each missed the mark. Chikorita was breathing so heavily after a couple of minutes that Beca knew that it wouldn’t last much longer. Chloe seemed to be of the same mind as she called out an attack that they’d been working on the last few days. “Synthesis!” Chikorita’s leaf extended and reached for the sun, as a glow overcame its body. It seemed to stand up straighter, but as the healing move faded, it didn’t look all that much better than when it had started. The poison was still in effect.

Hoothoot was standing there, its eyes glowing, preparing for another Confusion attack, and in what Beca knew was a desperation move Chloe called out to Chikorita. “Use your vines to move! Tackle, full power!” Chikorita, despite all the poison and exhaustion, did as asked and used its vines to vault itself towards Hoothoot, who for all its preparation for a Confusion attack did not expect the speed of that variation of Tackle attack. It couldn’t move and was plowed into by the tired Leaf Pokemon. It rolled to Falkner’s feet before it slumped back. 

The ref cleared his throat and called out. “Hoothoot is unable to battle. Chikorita is the winner!”

Chloe clapped happily, ready to congratulate Chikorita, but the Leaf Pokemon sagged to the ground and fell over. The ref called out again. “Chikorita is also unable to battle. Each trainer must choose their next Pokemon!”

Beca saw Chloe sadly return the exhausted Grass type to its Pokeball. Beca even thought she saw tears in Chloe’s eyes at how hard Chikorita had worked, only to be felled by its own poison. She wiped them away quickly, reattaching Chikorita’s Pokeball to her belt. 

Falkner called out from the other side of the field after returning Hoothoot. “That was a good match. You should be proud of how you handled a type disadvantage, and how hard your Chikorita worked for that win. That leaf shield thing will be useful for as long as it remains a Chikorita, and it was a clever tactic that I haven’t seen before. Now, you ready to finish this battle… one way or another?”

Chloe nodded and drew Ledian’s Pokeball. A Bug type wouldn’t be much better against a Flying type than Grass, but she didn’t have any other options. She sent the Five Star Pokemon out and it called happily, in its now confident voice. Falkner smiled, seeing Ledian and sent out his Pokemon that happened to be the red plumed Pidgeotto. It was an evolved form, just like Ledian, and one often tried for by Flying type trainers, and by the larger population.

Both she and Chloe reached for their phones again, pulling up Pidgeotto’s data. Beca read off some of the basic info telling her that Pidgeotto’s are very territorial and their claws are so well developed they can carry an Exeggcute without crushing its shell. Beca smiled, knowing that Chloe had faced several Pidgeys by this point. Beca had complete faith in her. And it must have shown in her face because Chloe wasn’t looking at the field, but at her. She had a soft smile on her face that grew into the wide smile when Beca threw her a dorky thumbs up gesture. When she turned back to the field, the fire in her eyes that she had started with was back. 

“You have the initiative again, Chloe! Whenever you are ready!” She nodded and called for Ledian to use Reflect. It was good to start with a move that would limit Pidgeotto’s attack power. Falkner thought so as well as a look of frustration immediately appeared on his face.

“Pidgeotto, take off, then Gust!” The Bird Pokemon flew up into the sky and began to flap its wings to kick up debris. Gust was of the special attack category of moves. Reflect only protected the opposing side from physical attack moves, so it was Falkner’s best shot of doing significant damage. It blew against Ledian, but since Ledian’s secondary type was also Flying, he was able to endure the hit rather well. 

Chloe immediately took advantage. “Swift!” Stars appeared from Ledian’s back and shot out towards Pidgeotto. It tried to maneuver away from them, but Swift was an attack that simply didn’t miss. It was able to dodge them on the first pass, but they crashed into its back and sent it tumbling down a bit before it was able to catch itself in the air.

“Quick Attack, Pidgeotto!” It dove for Ledian in a blink of light. As Pidgey evolved, its speed was its main asset. It gave Ledian no time to react. They collided, but the barrier around Ledian shone and dulled the hit from doing too much damage.

“Swift, then Mach Punch!” Stars struck Pidgeotto again and it was followed up by a speedy punch to Pidgeotto’s back, for a powerful combination. Pidgeotto was in dire straights, and Falkner didn’t seem to have an answer to the balance of defense and accuracy of attacks from Ledian and Chloe.

As it flew, hurt and desperate, back to its side of the battlefield, Chloe called out something that even Beca wasn’t expecting. “Hidden Power!” That was the Technical Machine that Kenny had given Chloe when they set out a week ago. He had told them that each individual Pokemon had a different Hidden Power that this move accessed. Depending on the Pokemon, the type of move that Hidden Power could be was anything. Beca didn’t know that Chloe had used the TM on Ledian until this moment.  
Energy gathered near Ledian’s forehead in an orange light and then shot out in a wide arc, overtaking Pidgeotto. It cawed in pain as electricity ran up and down its body, showcasing that Ledian’s Hidden Power was an Electric type move, before falling to the battlefield with a dazed look in its eyes.

“Pidgeotto is unable to battle. Ledian is the winner. And that means the victor is Chloe Beale!”

Ledian smiled happily before being tackled in a hug by Chloe, who squeezed the bug tight and squealed. Beca smiled happily as she looked up to Noibat who had a look of wonder on his face as he watched the battle. Beca smiled sadly, making a promise to herself that she’d battle more, for Noibat’s sake. But until then, she walked out and grinned at Chloe, who pulled her into the quickly forming group hug. She chuckled and hugged her back. “Congrats, Chlo. You too, Ledian.”

“A good job indeed.” They turned, releasing each other as Falkner stepped up to them, with a tired looking Pidgeotto sitting on his shoulders. “Not only did you manage to surprise me with your skills with a type disadvantage, but you even kept a powerful move like Hidden Power up your sleeve until you had me on the ropes and finished the battle off in quick fashion. Out of everything a Ledian can do, I was not expecting an Electric attack.” He offered Chloe a hand, which she took eagerly. “I think you have a bright future as a trainer, Chloe. Keep on this path and I think sky’s the limit.” Beca had to roll her eyes at the pun, but Chloe seemed to find it rather funny. He reached into the pocket of his jumpsuit and offered a small silver badge out to Chloe. “This is the Zephyr Badge. It’s proof that you beat me here at the Violet Gym. Also, I like to give out TMs to new trainers. The one I’m giving you is called Aerial Ace. It never misses, just like Swift. Use it well.”

Chloe took both the badge and the TM and grinned at him. “Thanks, Falkner! It was a fun battle! If I stop back through we will have to have a rematch!”

He chuckled and nodded. “I look forward to it.”

As Chloe turned to walk away, Beca stopped her. “Falkner… when I mentioned the Bellsprout Corner, you said there was a rumor… what is it?”

He sighed and pushed a hand through his hair. “Well, it was really popular until a couple of months ago. Something started to mess with the speaker systems and electronics. It’s an old building so no one thought much of it. But then there were reports of people being drained of energy and being scared by weird activity. Normally, I’d go investigate as the Gym Leader of this city, but as I said, I’m basically having battles day and night with the new influx of the training season, so I haven’t gotten around to it.”

Beca frowned and hummed. “Thanks, I guess I’ll ask about it when I meet the owner tomorrow.”

Falkner nodded and turned to begin speaking with the ref who was taking Pokeballs from him, most likely to be taken to the Pokemon center to prepare for the next set of trainers.

They turned and walked through the door and down the spiral ramp that they had walked up on. Chloe was almost skipping in happiness while Beca was in deep thought. Chloe turned around to walk backwards so she could face Beca. “So, a mystery at the club you are trying to play at? Sounds exciting! Now we got all our attention on that and more training! Are you excited to play?”

“Yeah, but if this place is haunted or whatever, nobody will show and then it doesn’t matter if I play or not… we gotta figure this out so people will show up.”

Chloe shrugged. “We totally got this. Picture it: Beca and Chloe… Ghost hunters!” She giggled at that and Beca couldn’t help but smile. 

“Well, I know it’s early but it seems like our journey is destined for a lot of weird shit, but it’s exciting at least.”

Chloe slowed up and came shoulder to shoulder with her and linked their arms. “Well, we’ll handle that weird shit together, like we always do, and have a good time doing it too!”

Beca was happy to note that while she was irrevocably happy that Chloe was holding her arm, she didn’t feel the heavy pressure of her crush at this moment. This was easy. At least it was until Chloe pulled her even closer and pressed a kiss to her cheek, whispering in her ear. “Thanks for believing in me. You’re the best.”

And there goes easy. Thrown right out the window as Beca’s heart almost exploded from the amount of sheer feelings flooding through her at this exact moment. She doesn’t even remember what she stuttered back to the redhead, as she was focused on making the blush on her cheeks disappear as quickly as possible and for her heart to stop tumbling around in her chest.

She was so screwed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what did you think? I think I'm getting better at writing the battle scenes, but that might just be my opinion.
> 
> So, Chloe got her first Gym Badge :D I won't be doing all Gym Battles in the future, just important ones that I feel contribute to either Beca or Chloe's Pokemon learning something important/evolving, or progressing Beca's crush and/or the feelings of Chloe's that may or may not be >.> (It be) Neither will I have them shown catching some of their Pokemon, but I'll do things like I did in this chapter with Ledian's evolution story, mention it in passing and try to give you guys the important details!
> 
> However, the next story is Beca-centric and how she is going to investigate the club she wants to play at and maybe find more than she bargains for!
> 
> Thanks for reading so much, for the people that take the time to comment or throw a kudos at me, it means more than you know. It inspires me to keep me working. Bechloe tag on Ao3 doesn't have new stories every day sometimes, so while I write this so I have Bechloe to read every day, I also do hope you guys like it too! As always, I can't spoil it by telling you what Pokemon they will catch, but if you have any questions let me know here, or on tumblr @icameasahoplite I always love to converse with my people :D
> 
> I'll see you soon!


	4. Beca's First Gig

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beca is playing a gig at Bellsprout Corner, if she can nail her tryout, that is. With Chloe by her side can she pass the owner's tryout, play a successful show, and possibly figure out the mystery haunting the old building?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi everyone! Okay, so I haven't been very inspired for my Superhero AU of WWE lately, but been very inspired for this. However, these chapters are longer than I'm used to writing, which means not only do I work on the entire thing over the course of an entire week, I also have to go back and proofread, which I'm not great at. On top of that, I've been traveling a lot over the last couple of weeks. Winnipeg for my birthday, Cleveland for a concert, and Lynchburg for a wedding and now posting this from La Follete, Tennessee for Father's Day Weekend.
> 
> I've been working on this in between, and I hope it was worth the wait guys! Enjoy!

Beca didn’t know what to make of the Bellsprout Corner at first. It looked… well dead. The windows weren’t boarded up or anything, but it looked like it had certainly seen better days. She gave a skeptical look to Chloe who simply gave her a cheesy grin and nodded encouragingly. She was confidant on Beca’s behalf, and she needed someone to be because if she had to play this place then nobody would show up and that’d be a real blow to her confidence on her first show. Though, this is about what she imagined for her first show. A run down building with shitty speaker systems that she had to really do the heavy lifting to make herself come off sounding like she knew she could. A perfect first show for an up and comer to cut their teeth on, you know, if people actually showed up.

She cleared her throat and stepped up to knock on the door. She stepped back and waited for any answer. She didn’t have to wait long before a short blonde haired man answered the door, looking annoyed. Then he seemed to take in the fact that there were actually people. “Oh, I thought it was the kids again…” He paused as Beca had to try not to laugh at how much older he was making himself sound. “Ever since the ghost stories started I’ve had a lot of ding dong ditchers.” His smooth accent was a lot more enjoyable for Beca when he wasn’t sounding so pissed off. “I’m Luke, I own this place. You’re… Becky the DJ, right?”

Before Beca could correct him, Chloe seemed to jump in for her. “Beca, and she’s gonna be the best DJ you’ve ever had here!” 

Beca blushed at Chloe’s praise, not unused to it, but it still having an effect on here even after all these years. Luke seemed to shift his attention to Chloe. “And you are her… cheering section?”

Chloe met his eyes and cocked her head, almost as in a challenging way. “Biggest fan, actually.” 

He hummed, his eyes darting between them with some look in his eye that Beca didn’t feel like examining too closely. “Well, come on in, I wanna hear what you got. I can’t afford to pass up anything that might bring people in. You’re the first DJ that’s called since word got out about our problem.” He stepped to the side, opening the door wider for them. 

They stepped through and what they saw inside was… rather stunning actually. Everything was clean and polished, a non-alcoholic bar was set up over on the far wall. A large dance floor was most of the floor space on the right side of the bar. At the end of the dance floor was the DJ set up that was on a bit of a rise so she’d be able to see out over the dance floor. Beca turned her head to take a peek at the rest of the place and saw a restaurant like set up on the other side with tables placed evenly throughout, and off in the corner, an old piano had been shoved in as what appeared to be an afterthought. 

Chloe looked suitably impressed by the layout, spinning around on the dance floor giggling before smiling at Beca. The she spared a glance at Luke who looked at the place almost sadly. “This place is amazing! How don’t you have business? It can’t really be a ghost?”

He sighed and pushed his hands into his back pockets, shrugging. “I don’t know if it is a ghost or what… Whatever is messing with this place has been really active if we ever try to play loud music though, and you kind of need that to get any kind of crowed. Even loud noises like shouting seem to make it angry.” He looked towards the ceiling, glaring at whatever he was talking about. “Everything tells me that its some kind of Ghost type Pokemon, but I’ve never seen it so I can’t prove anything, plus Falkner hasn’t been able to get back to me no matter how many times I’ve called him.” He sighed and ran a hand over his face before jerking his head to the DJ stand. “Set up and get whatever you wanna play me ready.” He was obviously done talking about it for now.

Beca took a deep breath and made her way over. Her hands were shaking a bit, which Chloe must have noticed because as she passed her on the dance floor she reached out and just lightly grazed her hand. Beca could feel the instantaneous relief that surged through her, dropping her shoulders and steadying her heart rate. She climbed the steps of the DJ booth and set her back by her feet, digging in it and pulling out both her flash drive and her laptop. She set up the laptop, which she made sure to charge overnight at the Pokemon Center so that there would be no misfires today, and plugged the flash drive into her computer, plugging it into the system that was provided. It wasn’t a brand new system, but Beca recognized the brand and sighed in relief. She could do this.

She placed her headphones over her ears and played a track, waiting as the intro played and she made sure there wasn’t a thing that felt wrong in her headphones. If she could hear it in her headphones, they’d hear it down on the floor. She was satisfied, looping the intro back into itself and gradually fading it from her headphones into the loudspeakers of the club. She felt the song pumping and the bass pounding in her chest as she let something she had worked so hard on play from an actual DJ booth… it was surreal and it was even easier to lose herself in the music. One song faded into another, and then she was working on incorporating another one when she felt a hand on her shoulder, breaking her concentration. She looked back over her shoulder and saw Chloe with a smile on her face. 

She smiled back, mostly on instinct, but gave her a confused look. Chloe gave her a cut gesture and that’s when Beca realized she’d been lost in her own little world for almost three full songs… when she was supposed to play one. 

She blushed and faded the music out and looked up at Luke. He was standing there with an unreadable look on his face. Beca was so embarrassed, she ducked her head and focused on packing her stuff away as Chloe left the DJ booth while she was doing so, heading toward the back where the sign said restroom.

She bit her lip, making her own way down after safely putting all of her things away, meandering over to Luke, who still looked far away in his thoughts. She cleared her throat, drawing his attention and sealing whatever fate had in store for her. He looked at her up and down, not in the creepy way that some guys in school did, but more like he was seeing her truly for the first time. “Wow… that was good. Really good, actually. I’ve seen DJs who have years on you not sound that good.”

“Really?” Beca was delighted to hear that. Knowing that someone liked her, professionally, meant that she could only go up from there if she kept working as hard as she had been. “I was only supposed to do one song, though.”

He chuckled, “I’m not going to take points off just because you got really into it. That’s a rather good thing, don’t you think?” She smiled shyly as he continued. “I told your biggest fan this before she hit the restroom, but the job is yours for this upcoming weekend, all three days, if you want it.”

Beca was just about to accept it unequivocally when she heard Chloe scream. It pierced the entire ambiance of the now silent bar. Beca’s heart went into overdrive with her own fear when the thought that Chloe was in danger, and she was about to break into a sprint to the bathroom, before Chloe beat her to it and dashed out from it with a look of fear on her face and she crashed into Beca’s arms, that wrapped protectively around her.

“Holy shit!”

“What, Chloe? What’s wrong?”

Luke beat Chloe to an explanation. He simply groaned and asked Chloe, “It was the thing again, wasn’t it?”

She nodded, eyes wide. “I was washing my hands and looked in the mirror… there was a shadow and then it was gone and then I heard a scream right next to my ear!”

Luke nodded. “That would be one of the normal occurrences…” He looked at Beca, looking absolutely defeated. “Like I said, the job is yours, but because of this… thing, I can’t promise that anyone will show.”

Beca frowned, looking at Chloe who was staring back at the restrooms with a shaking apprehension. Her eyes looked around, and for the first time, feeling the mood of the building. There was something here, Beca didn’t doubt Chloe, but she could also feel something too. A sadness weighed on this place, something that was weighed down by a feeling of anger. She gave her attention back to Luke. “I’ll do it. On one condition.”

He gave her a questioning look, allowing her to go on. “The first weekend show is Friday, which is in two days. Let us stay the night here tonight and try to find out what’s been causing your trouble. There has to be a story there and we may not be Gym Leaders, but we are trainers. If it’s a Pokemon, maybe we can help it or scare it off or something.” She felt Chloe grip her tighter, obviously not thrilled with her idea. “If we can figure it out that night, then we can use the next day to promote that the issue has been taken care of, and maybe we’ll get a decent crowd for the weekend.”

He looked thoughtful for a bit, before nodding. “I can get behind that. I’ll take the cash drawer, obviously. And I can’t let you into the office, but other than that, the place is yours. Just come back before nine when I lock up and I’ll let you in.”

Beca smiled at him and nodded. He cleared his throat. “I’ll go get the contract that you’ll sign for the pay that you’ll get for three days of work. I’ll just be a moment.”  
He walked off to a side room that was probably the office before Beca turned to look at Chloe, still in her arms from her recent scare. Chloe was glaring down at her from that position. She gulped and gave her a smile. “What?”

“I don’t want to stay here tonight! That thing really freaked me out! I won’t be able to sleep!”

Beca gave her a sheepish smile. “C’mon, Chlo… please? I really want people to show up! I know if we do this we can figure it out together!”

Chloe’s eyes softened a little bit before she sighed. “Fine… I can’t say no to you. But, you have to promise that you won’t make fun of me if I get scared.”

Beca rolled her eyes and squeezed her arms around her with affection lacing her tone. “I wouldn’t dream of it, you big baby.” At Chloe’s glare, which was about as effective as a small kitten’s, Beca cracked a smirk. “What? You made me promise that for tonight, not right now.”

The halfhearted slap on her shoulder was totally worth it.

 

They hadn’t really done anything the rest of the day. They had headed back to the Pokemon Center for their stuff, allowing another trainer to take their room if need be, and got their Pokemon checked up again. Chloe was still a little too freaked out from her ordeal to really focus on training Chikorita or Ledian and so she sat to the side watching Beca and Noibat work on a new mix. Once that was finished they ran some flying patterns to practice Noibat’s Agility. Beca was always incredibly happy to work with Noibat on this stuff because whenever they made any sort of break through, Noibat would be over the moon and nuzzle her in a way that she tried not to show melted her heart. From the warm smile and heart eyes Chloe was throwing them, she was probably not doing a very good job of hiding it.

When the sun was just beginning to sink below the horizon, they made their way back to Bellsprout Corner. Chloe was beginning to look freaked out again and Beca couldn’t help but feel a stab of guilt at making her friend go back to do something that scared her so much. She couldn’t back out of this, and she didn’t want to embarrass or offend Chloe by telling her she’d do it herself, so she just made it up in her mind to make it up to her later.

Luke met them at the front door, keys in hand. He let them in, offered them a heartfelt good luck and locked the door behind them. He’d left most of the lights on, something Chloe was probably thankful for. Beca smiled at the old building, happy to be back in a place that she thought was pretty awesome. She placed her stuff down on one of the tables and spun around taking in the décor again and smiling. Her eyes locked with Chloe who looked the exact opposite. 

“Would it help if we brought our Pokemon out? Give us some more company that way?” Chloe nodded, smiling gratefully, already pulling Chikorita and Ledian’s Pokeballs off of her belt. Beca sent out Noibat and watched as the Pokemon spread out, looking over the hangout with curiosity. She left them to explore while she started unpacking some of her stuff. She might be up all night in search of this spirit, so she figured she might try to draw it out with her mixes. She didn’t plug in her headphones, hoping that the loudness and awkward beats of an unfinished project might agitate it into showing up. 

Chloe came up beside her and watched her set it all up, as she had done many times throughout their younger years. When Beca gave her a questioning look she seemed to twiddle her thumbs. “Um, I’m just gonna stick close to you tonight.”

Beca smirked, but didn’t say anything. If she had it her way, she’d keep Chloe close to her for her whole life. She snapped her eyes closed and chastised herself for such a thought. Chloe frowned and poked her.

“You okay? You looked like you were in pain for a second.”

“Yeah, just a… head rush. I think I’ve been standing too long.” She sat at the table, Chloe joining her in another chair looking like she didn’t quite believe her. Instead of giving her a chance to question her further, she focused on beginning to work on a mix. The clashing of notes that didn’t go together yet could be painful and it echoed loud throughout the teen hangout. It was grating, but if loud noises and music drew this thing out, then Beca would let it play loud and proud.

Chloe did not seem to appreciate it so much, and neither did the tingle that went up Beca’s neck. It felt like someone was staring at her, and it was decidedly not friendly.   
She ignored it and kept going until Chloe was almost covering her ears. She paused it, reaching across the table and squeezing her hand. “Sorry.” She had been subjecting poor Chloe to this racket for a while now. She’d lost track of time working on it, and it was barely more put together than when she started.

She shook her head and gave her a small smile. “I know what you’re trying to do, it’s just not pleasant to be an audience member. Plus, this place seems… darker now. I feel like someone’s watching me.” 

Beca hummed. “Me too. It probably didn’t appreciate my music earlier and certainly doesn’t now.” She looked behind her, searching everywhere for whatever was giving her the creepy feeling. She didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, other than Chikorita letting Noibat slide down its vines like it was riding a surfboard. Chloe’s eyes were darting everywhere too and she was beginning to fidget nervously. Beca didn’t like seeing her in such distress and reached over to grab her hand again, her eyes falling on the old piano that didn’t fit in with the rest of the décor, but was still standing there anyway. “Come on.”

Chloe looked confused up until Beca pulled them up to the piano and reached forward to remove the little box that housed the ivory keys. Chloe perked up at the sight of Beca touching an instrument. Chloe could sing, just like Beca could, but Chloe did not have any capability to play any instruments. Beca, however, through her learning of the very basics of music at its barest form, could pick up different instruments and figure them out. In their home before they’d moved to New Bark Town, their house had a piano that Beca had taught herself on. She had never played for Chloe before, not having a piano to show her on, but Chloe knew she could play. She just didn’t know how well. 

“You’re finally going to play for me?”

Beca smiled. “You are really freaked out right now, and I thought it might take your mind off of the impending doom we both feel.” Her smirk turned a little devious.

Chloe half-heartedly slapped her, not finding her joking on the manner particularly funny, but too excited at the prospect of hearing Beca play to truly be mad about it. She sat down on the bench with Beca, and Beca could feel both Chloe’s eyes, and the other set of eyes on her as she gently set her fingers against the keys. She played a small key progression to test if the piano was still in tune. It was, and she smiled as she placed her hands back on her lap and looked to Chloe, squinting at her.

“What?” The redhead, asked curiously. 

Beca shook her head. “Nothing, really. Just trying to figure out a song to play for you.” She stared at Chloe a little longer as a feeling of wistfulness took over her mind. It was at this time that she realized just how huge her crush was on her best friend, as they sat close together on the bench staring at one another. Chloe’s hair had never shone brighter, her eyes never looked bluer and Beca was completely enraptured.

She let the feeling settle over her, finally breaking their staring contest before she could do something stupid like lean forward and kiss her, and leaned over the keys, placing her fingers over the proper ones for the song she felt she needed to play at that moment.

She saw Chloe perk up in recognition as she started the opening notes to All of Me by John Legend. She tried to ignore how naked she felt playing this song for the girl she loved and focused on her own feelings, pouring them into the song. She couldn’t really restrain herself, plus if she heard Chloe sing the lyrics to this song, which she would because Beca knew she loved this song, it would stab her in the heart with how she’d be thinking of some faceless person in her future who wasn’t Beca, so she opened her mouth and sang along with the song, putting feelings behind the notes, letting herself get lost in the music, much as she had done during her tryout. 

Not long after she started singing, Chloe’s hand landed gently on her thigh, encouraging. She chanced a look at Chloe and saw her bright eyes staring at her, seeming to almost shine, as Beca held her complete attention with her music, something that would never get old. The hand on her thigh felt almost like a branding iron in a way because while it was a hand of support it was also a reminder of what she could not have. That pang of sadness, she poured right back into the song.

She wasn’t so lost in the song to not notice when Chloe’s hand tensed up on her thigh. She kept playing, her eyes turning to see what was wrong with Chloe. Her eyes were wide with fear, staring behind Beca. She was about to ask what’s wrong before a piercing shriek made her fingers freeze. Chloe jumped out of her shoes and backed away from the piano, stumbling over herself to get away from whatever was behind Beca.

Beca stayed where she was, her fingers still resting on the keys and made herself calm down. She watched as some purple light came from Chloe and moved towards her, moving over her shoulder and as she followed it, turning her head, she saw it get sucked into the red beads hanging around the spirit that had cried out. The red gems glowed and the shadow became more corporeal, letting Beca get a better look at it.

At first it seemed like a shadow, with a read glow coming from within it. It didn’t have a sure shape to it, and she could see why something like this would freak Chloe out. However, as she stared at it, her vision seemed to pierce through the façade or it got tired of holding the illusion. Its true form was grey, or maybe dark blue with the aforementioned pinkish red beads across its throat like a choker. It had either tentacles or hair, Beca wasn’t totally sure, slicked back and waving behind it as its tiny body floated up to eye level with Beca. It had what could only be described as a flowing dress type motion of swirling shadows instead of legs. It’s hair/tentacles flowed behind it and stayed away from the yellow and red of its eyes. The tips of its hair almost looked died the same pinkish red as the beads on its neck. Beca knew this Pokemon from her studies. This was a Misdreavus. 

Misdreavus was a Pokemon that seemed to, both figuratively and literally, survive off of people’s fear. It’s screech was known to scare many people and it would take the energy of that emotion and store it in its beads, seeming to only need that for food. It was even said that if you put your ear next to the beads you could hear the screams of the people it had scared.

It seemed delighted to have gotten that kind of reaction from Chloe, who was backing up, crawling like a Krabby as quickly as she could, towards the Pokemon on the other side of the room. The Ghost type then turned its eyes, full of mischief onto Beca where it frowned. It didn’t seem to understand why she wasn’t screaming and running out of the building. Beca frowned, wondering why this Pokemon seemed so different to the tone she’d felt from its presence before when being watched. It was for sure the same presence she sensed, but this seemed more a prankster than the malevolent spirit she’d felt at the time. It was as they stared at each other, Beca still so emotionally raw from her song and the thoughts that came along with it, that she felt the Ghost types emotions as well, as if they were knocking against her own.   
Under the guise of mischief she felt the pain, the sadness, so similar yet different than her own, come off of Misdreavus in waves. It took her a second of staring at it to come up with a word to sum it all up: Hopelessness. 

Misdreavus didn’t seem to be doing the same level of introspection as Beca was and shrieked at her again, obviously expecting her to back away from it and run. When she didn’t, it drifted closer to her, peering down at the piano, frowning in confusion, as the weird human girl simply smiled at it. Beca felt her hands begin to move on their own, obviously caught up in some Psychic attack from Misdreavus. It moved her hands off the keys and slammed the wooden lid shut on them. Beca didn’t allow herself to show her annoyance and simply waited until her hands were her own again before moving the lid back and setting her fingers back on the keys. Misdreavus almost looked offended that she had gone right back to it and did it again. Beca, again, was very patient and moved the box back and placed her fingers on the keys. 

As if she planned it, she found herself pushing down the keys to a song she sometimes listened to when she needed some times to herself. Imagine by John Lennon started to seep from the depths of the piano, the chords making the Pokemon stop and seem as entranced as Chloe had been. Beca stared at Misdreavus as she played and began to sing, watching as a song that was about hope for things to get better clashed and warred with the Pokemon’s obvious disdain for life in general at this moment.

It seemed to at least make the Screech Pokemon pause, letting her play and begin singing along with it. She glanced over her shoulder to see Chloe behind both of their Pokemon, but holding them back from interfering, seeing that Beca was trying to handle it herself. With that worry out of the way, she tried to pour her emotions into the song again, hoping Misdreavus could feel it and would understand. She put all of her wishes into it, how she hoped she would be successful, how she hoped she could play here, how she hoped that whatever had been bothering Misdreavus lately for it to act as it did would resolve itself and the Pokemon would be happy. 

Misdreavus sank down to sit where Chloe had been when Beca had been playing before and listened, its eyes on Beca’s face. That was all Beca could tell from the corner of her eye as she focused on playing and finishing out the song. It was only when she finished that she turned to look at the Pokemon beside her dead on. It stared back up at her, its façade of mischief seemed to fade, a look of confusion to quickly appear before clearing into a look of understanding. It floated up to Beca’s eye line and then, slowly faded away until it was gone. The oppressive feeling in the room that Beca had noticed when she’d first stepped into the building for her tryout that day also seemed to evaporate, showing that Misdreavus had lifted its haunt on this place.

Beca gently, sensing that this old piano might have something to do with the reason Misdreavus was here, put the wooden cover back over the keys and stood up. She began packing her stuff up in a daze, turning to see Chloe and the rest of their Pokemon staring at her with wide eyes.

She tilted her head. “What?”

Chloe’s eyes looked a little awed. “You… you basically just calmed a Pokemon down just by playing Imagine… you fixed the entire situation with just music, Beca.”

She couldn’t help the satisfied smile. “Sometimes, that’s all you need.” It was something she truly believed in. There was a piece of music for every mood, for every situation, and Beca knew that sometimes, all it took was the right piece, the right emotion coming out of the song for something to click in someone’s mind to make it all make sense. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility for that to apply to Pokemon too. 

Chloe frowned as Beca made her way to the door of the club. “Where are you going? We can’t leave until morning. Luke has the keys.”

Beca frowned in confusion. She didn’t know why she was doing it, she just felt like she had to. Noibat fluttered down and landed on her shoulder, and she shrugged at   
Chloe who was moving towards her now. Beca couldn’t shake the feeling and continued to stare at the door, even as Chloe tried to pull her back. As soon as Chloe’s hand touched Beca’s arm, the lock slid open on its own. 

They both paused, Chloe sucking in a shocked breath. Then, Beca pulled on the handle and stepped into the night, Chloe reluctantly coming with her. Beca didn’t really know what to expect when stepping outside, but it all clicked into place as Misdreavus was floating there a couple yards away. They stared at each other again, the connection they had established seeming to have them able to communicate without words or questions. 

Beca pulled out an empty Pokeball, one she didn’t think that she’d use this early in the journey, if at all. Of course she was still worried about the possibility of caring for more than one Pokemon, but she finally kind of understood what Chloe was talking about when she spoke of not capturing a Pokemon until you felt that connection. That connection made sure that you and that Pokemon cared for one another and that way, there was no way you could mistreat it, or fail it. It was because that Pokemon cared for you and would have your back, even through screw-ups. It made the anxiety of more responsibility as a trainer ease a bit in Beca’s mind.

However, she could tell this was not going to be a Ledyba situation. Misdreavus was a proud Pokemon. One that had layers upon layers of emotional baggage that needed sorting, reminding Beca of herself, and that meant that it wasn’t just going to buddy up with her. No, it would take a battle to prove to Misdreavus that it could open itself up to Beca. She was reminded of how she’d made Chloe work for her friendship and trust, and how her dogged persistence had worn down Beca’s walls in less time than past her would have liked, but looking back on it, it was the best thing to ever happen to her. Now, she had a chance to play the flip side of that coin with Misdreavus, and that thought gave her confidence to do what she needed to do because she’d had Chloe’s perfect example on how to be a good friend and now it was time to pay it forward.

“Noibat, let’s do this.” The Sound Wave Pokemon flapped its wings and took to the air to face the Misdreavus. She heard Chloe take a small gasp of shock, but she remained quiet, letting Beca concentrate on the battle to come. She didn’t have to wait long as Misdreavus fired a Psybeam at them in a wave of purple energy. Noibat darted up into the sky to dodge it without Beca having to coax him, a showcase of their training. Beca knew that Normal type moves wouldn’t work on Misdreavus, so she needed to focus on her other attacks to weaken it enough to throw the Pokeball.

“Noibat, use Wing Attack!” It darted in from its position in the air, its speed was now refined through training, making it quicker than almost any wild Pokemon they’d encounter in the beginning part of their journey. It hit the Ghost type hard and it cried out in pain, but it used the proximity and overextension of Noibat’s physical move to fire a point blank Psybeam attack, knocking Noibat on to its proverbial heels. And then, capitalizing on its advantage appeared in a flash right in front of Noibat’s face, scaring it with an Astonish attack. 

Noibat shook off the damage rather well, and Beca called for a Gust, hoping that putting some distance between them, would make it harder for Misdreavus to hit with that Psybeam and Astonish combo. However, its beads glowed as Noibat began flapping its wings. Beca had to look away, feeling disoriented. It was only after she looked back that she knew what had just happened. Noibat was wobbling in the air, still trying to complete its Gust attack. The small tornado it was whipping up was way off target, spinning uselessly to the side of Misdreavus who looked delighted by the mischief its Confuse Ray had caused.

Beca was at a loss. With Noibat incapacitated and no other Pokemon to call on, she’d have to think of something to do. She had to get through to Noibat and end this quickly before it hurt itself. Then, as if to make matters worse, Noibat wobbled in the air before getting taken by a rogue gust of wind into the very Gust that it had created, beginning to be carried around and around. Beca groaned. She was making a fool of herself and Misdreavus didn’t seem to be allowing her to live it down, as it began to cackle in amusement at her predicament.

Beca saw how carefree and unguarded Misdreavus looked and then saw Noibat still conscious within the winds of the Gust. She called out, loud, raising her voice to the point that she thought she might wake the entire city. “Noibat! Use the momentum of the Gust to head for Misdreavus! Then, Bite!”

She bit her lip in anticipation. Bite was the one move that Noibat knew that would be super effective against a Ghost type like Misdreavus. If it hit, especially while Misdreavus was caught off guard, it could end the battle then and there, allowing Beca to throw her Pokeball. But, if the confusion held on Noibat, well, things would be over as well. She just needed to have faith in Noibat.

She didn’t know it had worked until Noibat shot out of the tornado it had whipped up with an incredible amount of speed, making its way for the stunned Ghost type, its mouth open wide and clamping down around the tangible body of the Screech Pokemon. It cried out in pain, rearing back and trying to get away. Noibat made sure it had a firm grip, doing a good amount of damage before releasing, obviously still suffering the after effects of the Confuse Ray. 

Beca wasn’t going to let this battle go any longer though as she was already in motion to throw the Pokeball. Her heart seized as she threw it, thinking she put too much power on the throw and overshot the reeling Ghost type, but she needn’t have feared as it sailed in an arc, hitting Misdreavus square in the forehead. It was sucked up in a blue light, the ball falling to the ground, beginning to shake back and forth. It did so for what felt like a year before falling silent and still signifying that the capture was successful. 

She hadn’t even taken a full step to retrieve the Pokeball when a body collided with her back and arms wrapped around her waist. Chloe was squealing into her ear in happiness, and all Beca could do was grin and lean into her. She had done it; she’d captured a Pokemon. She couldn’t believe that this was her life. Eventually, Chloe let her go and she went to pick the Pokeball up from the ground, looking at it with awe. Noibat landing on her shoulder, still breathing a little heavier than normal, was the only thing that broke her train of thought. She reached up to give his chin a good scratch and to tell him that he had done well. He let the bass from his ears hum pleasantly in her chest and tilted his head up to get the most out of the chin scratches she was giving out. 

Chloe held the door open for her to step back into Bellsprout Corner and she chuckled at how unaffected Chloe was in this place without the threat of being scared again. Though, seeing as how Misdreavus would be traveling with them now, Beca would bet that Chloe would be having scares more frequently no matter where they went. They sat at the table they had been sitting at, after Chloe had locked the door, and took some of their potions out of their bag, applying some to Noibat to heal some of the damage he had taken. When Beca was satisfied that Noibat was okay, she released Misdreavus from its new home and began to heal it. 

Misdreavus didn’t seem bothered by the fact it was now her Pokemon. In fact, it seemed to smile at her more easily, though the few mischievous smirks it threw at Chloe told of some interesting adventures ahead. If the rumor about Misdreavus feeding on the fear of people it scared was true, then Chloe probably seemed like an all you can eat buffet. 

After Misdreavus had been healed up, it floated over to Chloe’s Pokemon, seemingly introducing itself to them and chatting a bit. Then, it seemed to lead them over to the piano again, moving the board covering the keys and beginning to do a rough rendition of Imagine, as Beca had done not too long ago, showing the Pokemon how it could play with its psychic abilities. 

Beca watched amused, as it seemed another of her Pokemon was musically inclined as she was, or at least had an interest in it from what it had seen Beca do. She felt Chloe lean over and rest her head on Beca’s shoulder, huddling in close to her. She was tired, as was Beca. It showed when Chloe spoke in a husky whisper. “I’m so glad you came with me. I’d never want to make these memories with anyone else.”

Beca looked down at her, remembering her song choice to play for Chloe at the beginning of the evening, letting that feeling course over her again. Misdreavus seemed to recognize it, turning and giving her a small nod of understanding and Beca immediately felt lighter. She looked back down at Chloe, now galvanized by her new Pokemon. She pressed a soft kiss to the exposed left temple of the ginger and matched her low whisper. “No place I’d rather be than with you.”

 

That weekend, after word had gotten around that the issue at the Corner had been dealt with, Beca’s first crowd was decent sized and she was happy with it. Everyone seemed to love her mixes, dancing with one another and laughing. Chloe was there of course, watching her with a shine in her eyes that Beca tried not to get distracted by. Chloe stood nearby the DJ booth, dancing by herself, shouting and gesturing to Beca at different times. Even running her drinks when she could. And Beca couldn’t help but feel a little pride when Chloe turned down several people their age who tried to get her to dance with them.

Luke was happy with the turnout of the first night, but that was nothing compared to the full house they had Saturday. The word had gotten around that the rumors were true and that there was no longer any danger at Bellsprout Corner, but also, word had gotten around about Beca’s music. It drew people in to hear her and dance to her music and Beca had never felt more in her element. 

At the end of the weekend, Beca’s pockets were a little fuller, her heart matching it after her first successful gig. Chloe had stayed by her side the entire time, never complaining that her journey was paused. She was a saint, and Beca hoped that Chloe knew how much she appreciated it. As they walked out of Violet City, looking at the sign that pointed them down the next route towards Union Cave and Azalea Town, Beca turned to Chloe and smiled. “You’re pretty great, you know that?”

Chloe smiled at her and leaned in close, grasping both of Beca’s hand. She very carefully pressed a kiss to her cheek, leaning away to look down on a blushing Beca. “And you’re a sap.” She grabbed on of her hands, interlacing their fingers and beginning to pull her down the route. “Now, we’re wasting daylight! I wanna catch more Pokemon!”

Beca fought off the blush on her cheeks and allowed herself to be pulled along with a smile. She’d go anywhere with Chloe and for as long as Chloe wanted her around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was it? Beca finally has her first captured Pokemon! I liked Misdreavus for her because I feel like emotionally and mentally they would fit together. Misdreavus and that piano have a history, though I'd like to leave that a mystery to everyone for now :P So, the next one shot wasn't set up at all in this one and that's because I don't think I have another one planned until they get to Goldenrod City and then I have about seven set up from there lol They'll be centered around Goldenrod for a long time, so I hope you guys are prepared for that!
> 
> Please, please, please, leave a comment or kudos for me. They mean everything and I like to hear your guys' thoughts on what I've done, if you have any ideas for me, or if you have any guesses. Hell, I just like talking with you guys about this story cause this story means a lot to me.


	5. Entering Goldenrod

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beca and Chloe head through Azalea Town, meet some new friends, and enter Goldenrod City!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here I thought this was gonna come out shorter... heh, anyway! I'm sure you could all see this next chapter coming. There isn't a Pokemon story out there where the heroes don't catch this Pokemon. 
> 
> Have some fun and enjoy the first part of the Goldenrod Arc!
> 
> Also, I made a friend! Someone posted a Pokemon AU for Pitch Perfect on here and it is absolutely amazeballs. I highly suggest it because its killer! Plus, the author is now my friend and basically the same person as me in almost every way except for Hogwarts House and gender it seems like. I'll attach a link after this, seriously, go read it. You will not be disappointed.
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/15124112

It had been an intense couple of weeks for both Beca and Chloe. While traveling from Violet City to Union Cave Chloe had her first set back of her journey. There had been a Wooper that she’d wanted to catch, and despite weakening it and readying to throw her Pokeball, it had fled and they hadn’t seen another one. She’d pouted and been down the rest of the night, even though Beca had done her best to cheer her up, even going to look for where it might have gone after Chloe fell asleep. She needn’t have worried, by the next day, Chloe was back to her old self, and was even rewarded for her fortitude by having Chikorita finally evolve into a Bayleef during their training time at lunch.

Beca had already seen Ledian evolve from Ledyba so this wasn’t her first time seeing a Pokemon evolution, but it took her breath away every time regardless. Chikorita’s body grew larger, its neck longer, and the nubs on its neck flared out into leaves of their own. Its leaf on top of its head also grew slimmer, and developed a divot. It was quite a change, though she’s guessing Chikorita didn’t get much time to worry about it when, after only a few moments after it had appeared from the blue glow of evolution, Chloe had tackle hugged it with ferocity that made Beca wince a little bit. She’d been there.

After they’d entered Union Cave, it had been Beca who led the way surprisingly. Her, Misdreavus, and Noibat all had better cave navigating skills than any of Chloe’s Pokemon or Chloe herself. Misdreavus, whom Beca was getting along with in the best way, lit the way with the orbs around her neck, while Noibat checked each direction they went before leading them towards the exit. Because of this, they missed many dead ends and possible hostile Pokemon and made it out of the cave in a couple hours.

On the other side of Union Cave was basically a straight shot road to Azalea Town, home of the Azalea Gym Leader Bugsy and his Bug type Pokemon. Chloe had been nervous about Bugsy, as Bug types were effective against Grass types like her Bayleef, and she didn’t want to put the stress on Ledian’s shoulders to take care of everything. She concluded that on top of training, she’d catch another team member to add as some insurance. Beca didn’t even try to offer Noibat to her, knowing the redhead would refuse. So she simply waited as Chloe studied maps and reports on her phone about what Pokemon could be caught around there, waiting a couple hours until she decided what she wanted to try to find.

Her choice was a Poliwag, a blue tadpole like Pokemon with no arms. It had swirls on its belly, and Chloe just said she got a good feeling off of looking at its picture. There was said to be some in the underground lakes of Union Cave, so they backtracked and headed into the cave, seeking them out using Noibat’s ultrasonic hearing. It took them a couple hours to find one, but as they did, Chloe rushed at the chance, challenging the small tadpole to a battle. It put up quite a struggle, but it was no match for Bayleef’s type advantage and Chloe’s skill, falling into the Pokeball that Chloe threw at it, not struggling much before allowing itself to be captured.

Chloe had been overjoyed, but that quickly bled away into determination. Poliwag was new, which means that it didn’t know her battling style, didn’t trust her, and needed to be prepared more before fighting in a Gym battle. Chloe knew all this and Beca knew this too, which meant that they stayed in Azalea town for a week and a half, just training their Pokemon. Beca, of course, wasn’t as hard pressed as Chloe was, but she needed to work with Misdreavus too so that they could be in sync. All the time that Beca wasn’t training, she was working on more music, or simply talking with Misdreavus. 

That was certainly something she had grown used to. While Noibat was interested in Beca’s music and loved Beca, he didn’t really connect with Beca the same way that Misdreavus did. Misdreavus seemed to lock onto Beca’s emotions, probably because of its Psychic abilities, and could not only tell her mood, but also send tiny pulses of comfort or understanding through that connection. So, Beca could sit there and quietly whisper to Misdreavus about all her secrets, even her crush on Chloe, and the Screech Pokemon would sit and listen with an understanding head tilt. It was incredibly therapeutic and it quickly sealed the bond between Pokemon and trainer.

After their week and a half stay, Chloe finally thought they were ready. They arrived at the Gym, a much less busy one than Violet City’s, and challenged Bugsy. He was as cordial as Falkner, but younger, with an almost purple hue to his hair and some weird Boy Scout’s uniform looking thing. He had a mini forest in his Gym, allowing his Bug types to crawl around freely when not battling. Beca thought that his age, might make him easier than Falkner, but he was just as difficult. They agreed to another two on two battles, and Beca was sure that if Chloe hadn’t had Poliwag, she would have lost. He fought hard against Bugsy’s Spinarak and defeated it by sheer willpower, before losing to his Scyther, a Pokemon that piqued Beca’s interest as it fought. It was graceful, looked like a loner type of Pokemon. She filed it away for a Pokemon that she was interested in catching in the future and continued to cheer on Chloe. Ledian against Scyther was a close battle, but Ledian’s speed, even outmatching Scyther won the day. 

Chloe’s training of Ledian, remarking how he even got a few ideas for his own Ledian to use in the future, had impressed Bugsy. Chloe had beamed under the praise, and Beca was just so freaking proud of her that her heart felt like bursting. She treated Chloe to dinner that night, as well as her Pokemon. They’d chatted over many things, training techniques, Beca’s music, and even some discussion on Beca’s dad, whom she didn’t want to think about, and whom she was still rather angry at. Starting that topic used to make Beca shut down completely, but this was Chloe, so she told her everything she wanted to know.

“I just don’t understand how he treats you that way! I mean, you’re the best person I know.” Beca flushed at the praise, mind whirring in happiness. “You’re my favorite person! He should be nicer.”

“After mom died, he became so serious, you know? Didn’t help that both of his kids didn’t take to academia or business. And it didn’t help that after Kenny left on his journey, he told me what he expected of me. Dozens of tiny fights exploded into screaming matches… that’s why I was over so much, other than wanting to see you, of course.” Chloe gave her a small smile for that. That smile meant so much to Beca. It didn’t mean pity, it meant concern and caring. Her thoughts were so lost and muddled with everything that was Chloe Beale, that she let slip something she didn’t mean to. “He especially disproved when I told him I was gay; he just doesn’t like things happening out of his control.”

Beca’s mind finally caught up. Her eyes widened, and her fork clattered against her plate as she dropped it. Chloe’s eyes were just as wide. Oh shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. SHIT. She hadn’t meant to say that. God, she hasn’t told Chloe that! The only people knew were her dad and Kenny. This isn’t how she wanted to tell Chloe either. Beca Mitchell you useless piece of garbage!

Chloe’s eyes widened in shock. “You’re gay?” 

Beca couldn’t tell if her voice was disapproving or just shocked. She needed to think of a way to save this conversation, without showing Chloe that she was just the little bit in love with her. “Uh, yeah. Is that… okay?”

Chloe frowned at her, making Beca think that she was going to react poorly. “Of course it’s okay! I’m just… I guess I’m upset that I didn’t know.”

She frowned, “Its not like I don’t trust you… you know I do. I just didn’t really… my dad reacted so poorly I didn’t really… want to go through that again.”

Chloe looked down at her plate, twirling her fork. She seemed to be thinking it over, eyes far away and thoughtful. She seemed to nod at herself before looking at Beca with a smile. “It was your choice on who to tell and when, and I respect that. Thank you for telling me now.” She gave her a teasing smile, “Though it seems like you might not have meant to.” 

Beca chuckled sheepishly. “Yeah, it kinda just slipped out, but I’m glad you know now.”

She reached over and squeezed Beca’s hand. “Me too.”

Since then, everything had been normal, which Beca really appreciated. The only thing that seemed to change would be that she’d find Chloe staring at her more. If they passed a woman on the street, she’d find Chloe’s eyes on her trying to gauge her reactions. When Beca questioned her on it, Chloe had blushed and stuttered as she explained and said she was trying to see what type of girls Beca thought were pretty. So that Chloe could still be involved in talking about romance in the future, or to set Beca up. That made Beca feel very conflicting things: sadness at the fact that Chloe was going to be suggesting women to Beca when all she wanted was the redhead, and gratefulness that Chloe was completely okay with her sexuality and wanted to be involved. It was a weird dichotomy, but Beca just smiled and let Chloe keep observing her. After all, Chloe wouldn’t see her looking at any women too long when Chloe herself was right there.

The next obstacle that they tackled was Ilex Forest. It was a long winding forest path where they had to camp several days. It was here that Beca learned that while Misdreavus was a very understanding Pokemon, it still saw Chloe as a bit of an easy target, so it scared her a couple times during the trip, having more than enough energy to feed on. Beca should have scolded Misdreavus, but it was a little funny, and it was Misdreavus’ own way of bonding with Chloe, especially when she brought Chloe flowers as a sorry and Chloe smiled at the Ghost type.

Nothing of much interest happened while walking through Ilex Forest, Chloe and Beca both battled a few trainers, trading off turns. Beca could feel herself getting surer of herself in battles with both Misdreavus and Noibat. She could tell they were growing stronger as a unit. Chloe was a great as ever, making it look so natural and easy. Beca didn’t see how she could lose. Within two days they were out of Ilex Forest and on the last route to Goldenrod City, where not only did Chloe’s next Gym battle await, but Beca’s big test as a musician. The Goldenrod Radio Tower was where you got your music played all around the Johto Region. If she could get even one song played then every club from Blackthorn City to Cianwood City would be possible for her. Chloe had already told her that they would stay in Goldenrod until things worked for Beca, even if that meant she’d take day trips to the other cities with Gyms like Ecruteak City and Mahogany Town before returning to Beca’s side. 

Luckily for both of them, they knew that there were a lot of things to do around the big city while they stayed here. There was a Department Store with many items that weren’t available at your generic PokeMart. It had several routes with Pokemon that neither of them had seen before, offering their greatest chance of going out and adding members to their teams. Plus, who didn’t like a visit to the big city? Beca couldn’t wait for Chloe to drag her out walking. That kind of quality time was Beca’s favorite.

However, as they entered Goldenrod City, Beca finally realized that there was a downside to visiting the big city, and that was the fact that it was so easy to get lost, even with a map, that it wasn’t even an hour of searching for the Pokemon Center before they were completely turned around. They needed to get there to book the cheap rooms that were available for trainers, and to get their Pokemon looked at after the battles they had faced in the forest and the route here. But as they sat studying a map near the corner of an intersection, they couldn’t even pin point where they were at exactly. 

“We should just ask someone. They’ll know and at least get us in the right direction.”  
Chloe bit her lip in concentration. “No, I can do this. I can navigate along routes, I can do it in the city too.” 

Beca snorted. “Clearly.” Chloe turned and squinted at her. 

“The comments from the peanut gallery aren’t helping.” She turned back to the map and looked up. “Okay, I think I’ve got the right direction now. We go straight and through that overpass fourteen blocks ahead, then turn left and it should be there.”

Beca sighed, already preparing her legs for more walking. “Fine, but if you’re wrong, we stop and ask someone for directions, and you’re the one that has to do it.”

Chloe beamed at her and nodded. “Deal!”

She took Beca’s arm and began dragging her down the street. The overpass came into view within the next couple of blocks, they were happy to simply take in this side of the city in silence and with one another. All of their Pokemon were put away in their Pokeballs, so it was just them, and it was incredibly hard for Beca not to sink into the feeling of Chloe right next to her. But, she needed to keep it the tiniest bit together, so she resisted. It was only because of this intense focus that Beca heard anything at all.

Soft whines and cries echoed off the noisy overpass, just loud enough that they could be heard over the zooming cars. Beca stopped as she heard them, Chloe jerking as Beca became immovable and stopped both of them in their tracks. 

“Did you hear that?”

Chloe frowned and shook her head. “I didn’t hear anything.” She moved to where Beca was standing and tilted her head down and shut her eyes, listening with Beca. 

It took a while, but the whines sounded again and it came from up the concrete ramp towards the underside of the actual overpass. Beca was climbing up the incline before she could stop herself, Chloe right on her heels. It took her a running start, but she was able to push herself to the top and grab a hold of the lip of a small dip where there was a gap of flat concrete between the underside of the overrpass and the wall. Nestled there in a dirty and torn blanket were two small Pokemon, both with brown fur, matted with muck and grime. There was a strip of white fur at the front of their coats, which were also dirty. As Beca locked eyes with one of them, it growled stepping in front of the much more timid one. Its eyes were defensive, wild and angry. 

Chloe popped up next to her and looked at them. She gasped. “They’re Eevees!” She tried to reach out to touch them, but the defensive one tried to snap its teeth at Chloe’s hand. She drew it back in surprise, but continued to stare at the Pokemon. Beca did too and it was easy to tell the situation just from looking at them. They had been abandoned here. Some Trainers or Breeders did things like this, but it was the first time Beca was seeing it in person. She couldn’t even fathom doing that to a Pokemon so young, or any Pokemon at all. It made her angry just thinking about it.

“We need to get them to the Pokemon Center. They need checked out and sent somewhere that they can be healthy and happy.” 

Chloe hummed in agreement next to her. “Not sure that one will let us get close enough to take them.” Gesturing to the growling Normal type. “Any ideas?”

Beca frowned, trying to think of how they could calmly get both of the Pokemon. They could each throw a Pokeball, but that just didn’t seem… right. It felt like cheating and it felt like furthering the abuse that they had already suffered. Beca didn’t want to battle them either, that’d be worse. She looked at her Pokeballs, mentally checking if she could try to get one of her Pokemon to calm them down. Perhaps Chloe’s Ledian could soothe them, but that might all change when they try to carry them several blocks in their journey to the Pokemon Center; it was too risky. 

Inspiration struck Beca like lightning. She grabbed Misdreavus’ Pokeball and tossed it up one handed. She appeared in a flash of white and gave a cry. She looked around, locking eyes with Beca. The protective Eevee was growling up at Misdreavus now, seeing her as a threat. Beca very calmly spoke to Misdreavus. “We need to get them to the Pokemon Center, can you use your Hypnosis so that we can move them?”

Misdreavus nodded and her eyes glowed as she floated down to lock eyes with the Eevee’s who both stared for a moment before slumping over in a deep sleep. Beca smiled at Misdreavus and recalled her, thanking her for her effort. She grabbed the defensive Eevee, who was dead weight in her hands, and slid down the incline to where they had been walking. Chloe grabbed the other one and slid down after her. She smiled at Beca. “That was a great idea.”

She flushed a bit at the praise and ducked her head. “Whatever, let’s just get them to the Pokemon Center before they wake up.”

The trip there was a blur, but as they walked in, Nurse Joy gave them immediate attention, taking both Eevees on a stretcher in the observation room, thanking them for bringing them in and for being so gentle about it, after they’d explained the situation. They both waited, allowing Nurse Joy to work her magic, and about an hour later she came out to them with a slight smile, making them both relax quite a bit.

“Other than being hungry and dirty, they are both in relatively good health. The question is what to do with them now. They are in need of some people who care, but I’m not sure that they will take to trainers well. If you two are willing to put the work into it to earn their trust, you can see if they want to come with you tomorrow. If not, there is a Pokemon Daycare down the route out of the city that I’ll take them to.”

Beca and Chloe shared a look, already being able to tell what each other wanted. Chloe lit up at Beca’s nod and turned to Nurse Joy. “I’d like to try.” Nurse Joy nodded while Beca spoke up about their own Pokemon and their need for a long-term room. 

“Of course. I’ll get you guys registered in and take your Pokemon for a check up.” She brought them over to her desk and began clicking away at the computer there. “Do you want separate rooms?” Beca was about to answer before she realized that this would be the first time they’d be sharing a room since she came out to Chloe. She didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable, so she looked to Chloe for her answer. 

She frowned at Beca’s lack of response before seeing that it was her decision to make. She stared at Beca, even as she answered Nurse Joy. “One room is perfect.”

Beca felt the tension in her shoulders ease, and the breath she was holding blow out through her nose. They paid for everything that they needed to and let their Pokemon be taken away. Since they would be waiting to receive them back from Nurse Joy, they decided to go ahead and drop their stuff off in their room. Chloe didn’t comment on the pause that Beca had when choosing rooms, and for that Beca was thankful. Chloe always seemed to know when to not bring something up with Beca and Beca would be forever grateful that they understood one another so well.

After dropping their stuff off and making their way back towards the main area. Chloe stopped as two fellow trainers were discussing Whitney, the Goldenrod Gym Leader. Beca could tell that Chloe’s mood wasn’t as into it as she usually was, her mind still on the Eevee pups. Hers was too. Beca didn’t know if she felt right taking one. Chloe would be a better nurturing mother figure to both of them than her, so she’d let Chloe take the lead and play along. 

Eevees were incredibly versatile Pokemon. With many different possible evolutions, Chloe would be fine to have multiple of them and capitalizing on their different type advantages once they evolved. When they arrived back and received their Pokemon’s clean bill of health from Nurse Joy, they went out behind the Pokemon Center to a gated practice field. Beca expected Chloe to dive right into training Bayleef, Poliwag, and Ledian, but instead she called them all out for some grooming. Beca thought about it and smiled, knowing that Chloe was extra affectionate because she loved her Pokemon and never wanted them to feel how those Eevees did. The only training that Chloe still did was telling her Poliwag to continue to walk. They had come to find through the Pokedex that Poliwags were natural swimmers, but enjoyed walking on their new feet… they just weren’t very good at it. Training manuals had all said that a Poliwag’s trainer should have it practice walking every day, to help it towards evolution where it would be more comfortable.

Beca also felt the effects of seeing two Pokemon abandoned, calling out Misdreavus and Noibat for herself. She had them practice a few speed drills, but her heart wasn’t in it either. So, she pulled out her laptop, after running back to the room to grab it, and began working on her final mix that she would drop off at the radio station along with her information should they contact her. Noibat listened with her, humming different beats and bass notes with his ears, trying to add layers to it that Beca would add in at certain times when she felt that Noibat had really nailed something that she could use. Misdreavus kinda just sat there, floating over her shoulder watching and playing with bits of Beca’s hair almost absentmindedly.

That was how the rest of the night went, in quiet contemplation, and they retired to their room quietly, their thoughts on the Eevee pups. When morning came, Chloe was determined to see the Eevees first thing in the morning and help them if she could. Nurse Joy was as peppy as ever, leaving Beca to be the only non-morning person. It was hell, but as Chloe went and got her a cup of coffee, she felt better, walking in behind the Nurse and Chloe into the medical room. 

Both Eevees were there. The defensive one sat there, looking cautiously around, its food not as devoured as the other Eevee’s. That other Eevee was still chowing down, regardless of the new people in the room. The defensive Eevee locked eyes with Beca and seemed to size her up, remembering her face from the day before. Nurse Joy walked up and laid a gentle hand on the Eevee that was eating, and it let out a happy purr, while the Eevee that had locked eyes with Beca let out a low growl, just a warning one at his litter mate being touched. The Nurse had apparently gotten into their good graces with the food, so the happy Eevee allowed the petting to continue, as did its protective friend.

“So, Miss Beale, if you want to come and see how they feel around you, now is the time.”

Chloe inched her hand towards the happy Eevee, figuring she would start with the easy one. The other one continued its warning growl, but was simply watching their movements cautiously. The happy Eevee sniffed Chloe’s hand for a moment and tentatively butted its head against her palm before seeming to recognize her scent, maybe from when they carried them both to the Pokemon Center. It jumped happily into Chloe’s arms, snuggling up to her. Chloe giggled happily, and Beca couldn’t help but smile at the interaction. 

Chloe held the Eevee in her arms, even as she tried to reach out for the other one, trying the same tactic. However, this Eevee stuck its nose up at her, and when she persisted, snapped its jaws at her again. Chloe jumped back, her Eevee barking at its friend from her arms. The other Eevee did not look apologetic at all, simply turning its face away from her friend. Chloe looked sadly at it and then at Nurse Joy who shrugged helplessly. Chloe brought out a Pokeball; one for the first Eevee that seemed like it liked her.

“Eevee, I know we just met, but I feel like you and I could become really good friends. I don’t want you to have to live like you were living again. I’d rather try to help you and make you happy. My name is Chloe and I’m training Pokemon for the Gym Challenge and to be a great Pokemon Trainer. If you want, you can come with me.” She showed Eevee the Pokeball, and it yipped happily at the thought. Chloe set it back down on the table and was about to toss the Pokeball when the disgruntled Eevee charged and knocked it out of her hands, then making a Tackle attack towards Chloe in anger.

Beca really didn’t realize she was moving until the Eevee hit her instead. Without thinking, she’d stepped in front of the Tackle attack and felt it strike her crossed arms that she’d thrown up defensively as a reaction. The coffee she had been holding, now only warm thankfully, spilled all down her shirt. The attacking Eevee seemed momentarily shocked, looking down at the fallen Beca with what looked to be confused, yet impressed, eyes.

“Beca!” Beca waved off both Nurse Joy and Chloe as she picked herself up. 

She stared at the aggressive Eevee. “You try that again, and I don’t care about any sob story, we’ll take this outside.” The Eevee squinted at her, taking a challenging stance. “You wanna protect your friend? Same for me. But, you also need to let your friend have a chance at a better life…” Her voice got a bit thick, thinking of her situation with Chloe. “Even if that means it’s without you.”

The other Eevee lost its aggressive stance, looking at Beca with sad eyes. Beca knew those eyes; they were her eyes sometimes when she thought about the hopeless future of her and Chloe. Having to watch her date, get married, have kids and none of that going to be with her. “We aren’t trying to take your friend from you, this doesn’t have to be goodbye. You’re free to come with them, but you have to choose to stay in their life, and if you can’t choose that, then you need to let them go so that they can be happy.”

The Eevee looked back at its friend, whose eyes were tentatively watching the exchange. It looked back up at Beca before dropping its head, moving so that Chloe could reach her Pokeball. Beca let out a little breath of relief. The Eevee stood next to its friend. Chloe pulled out a second Pokeball for the new Eevee, but it growled at her again. Not aggressive, just a firm answer of no. Its friend looked at it heartbroken. Beca bit her lip, feeling some emotions for her own situation bubbling up to the surface. However, they needn’t have worried as, with a confident strut the protective Eevee walked right up to Beca and nodded its head.

“Me?” It nodded again. “Are… are you sure?” It looked back to its friend and then back at Beca, giving her a small bark of assurance. “Alright.” She looked at Chloe who was positively beaming at her. Beca wasn’t sure if that was because she had protected her, had spoken of friendship in the mushiest was possible, or pride that she had earned this Eevee’s trust.

Beca pulled out an empty Pokeball and held it out for the Evolution Pokemon. It tapped it with its paw and was sucked in as it opened up for it. It wiggled three times in Beca’s hand before pinging a successful capture. Chloe did the same with her new Eevee, the ball only rocking once before falling silent with a soft ping.

Nurse Joy watched them with a soft smile. “That was very well done. I feel so happy for any Pokemon you may catch if you treat them with such care and devotion.” Beca and Chloe both thanked her for her kind words. They received instructions on how to care for the Eevees in their vulnerable state. They wouldn’t be fit for full training or battling for a week. Until then, they needed food and warmth, as well as a chance to bond with their new trainers. They both promised to withhold training and battling until was proper for their new teammates.

Now that Chloe’s mind was clear of its earlier worry, she excitedly asked Nurse Joy about the Goldenrod City Gym. Nurse Joy gave her a sympathetic look. “Because it’s the big city, many tourists come here and they fancy that they’ll try to challenge Whitney for fun. The Gym is usually booked pretty solid, but there is plenty to do here while you wait.”

Chloe looked deflated but quickly perked up. “Well that settles it! I’m gonna go put my name on the waiting list, then we can do anything we want to while we wait.”

Beca nodded. She needed to drop off a few mixes at the Radio Tower before they did anything else. “Any recommendations, Nurse Joy?”

She hummed in thought for a moment. “The Department Store is always a big hit. They carry some really rare stuff you can’t get elsewhere, especially for trainers.” She paused, still thinking. “If you got to the National Park, there is a Bug Catching Contest that is very popular. You can catch rare Pokemon, and depending on what you catch and the points you get from it, you can trade your points in for some amazing prizes!”

Chloe squealed in delight. “Oh that will be fun! We can go, Beca, right?”

Beca chuckled at her friend’s enthusiasm. “Yeah, Chlo, we can go. Just gotta drop my first round of mixes at the Radio Tower.”

Nurse Joy gave them an apologetic look. “You’ll have to wait until tomorrow. That’s when the Contest happens. For today, I’d go explore the city and the department store. And, as always, you’re free to use the back fields for training.”

Chloe and Beca thanked her profusely for the tips and she left to go return to her work. Chloe looped her arm around Beca’s and pulled her off to their room where she was talking a mile a minute about how they’d introduce their Eevees to the rest of their Pokemon and how much they’d all get along. Beca was a little worried about her Eevee, but knew that they’d work through any problems with it, no matter what they were. She knew Noibat and Misdreavus would have her back too, so she couldn’t let herself get too bent out of shape thinking about it.

Chloe stopped them outside their room, turning to look at Beca. “About what you said back there to Eevee.” She gives Beca a small meek smile. “I just wanted to say thank you, for protecting me. And, just so you know, I’d pick to go with you any time and anywhere.”

Beca felt her throat close up and tear prick at the back of her eyes before she could force them down. She got a hold of herself rather quickly. She was only able to rasp out a small, “Yeah, same.” 

Chloe giggled at her response before pulling her into the room. “Get your walking shoes on, Mitchell, we got a city to explore.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said, several people called Eevee being a Pokemon they caught from the beginning! Now they each have one and obviously they will evolve into different things. I bet some of you have some ideas already about what they'll be!
> 
> As for earlier, I was actually sort of concerned with some of the earlier stuff, I tried to come up with a fun story for Poliwag's capture that would warrant its own chapter, but couldn't think of any that would work, so it just go a brief mention as being captured by Chloe. That and having Beca out herself to Chloe. I didn't plan for that to happen at all, wasn't even on my radar, but I was writing and it just kinda... went there. I hope I handled it correctly. I do have some experience coming out to my closest friends, but I never really talked to my parents about it. So I hope I captured what it feels like appropriately.
> 
> I'm loving the dynamic between Beca and her Misdreavus a lot. Misdreavus might be one of Beca's permanent team that she takes with her no matter what.
> 
> Anyway, I set up the next chapter at the end too! Bug Catching Contest and Department Store visit and maybe a little something in between. The girls are going to get some important items for their journeys in the next chapter and because Goldenrod is such a crossroads, their might be some more frequent catching of Pokemon... might even be two or three in one chapter ;)
> 
> Anyway, let me know what you thought in the comments below and take your guesses as to what they'll catch and train and maybe what items they'll grab. I know the Eevee speculation will jump up quick, but it'll still be a bit before they evolve, so you got time to say what you think! Love you guys, and see you soon!


	6. Bug Catching Contest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goldrenrod Part 2! Department Store and Bug Catching Contest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Bechloe week to all those who celebrate! I'm happy to read what you all have been posting lately and its all awesome! So I know this took a while and boy was it a slog to get through... I don't even know what it was about this chapter, but I felt like I couldn't wait to post it, but I had to actually write it first x.x 
> 
> Anyway, this was fun to write and while I think some of you might think this is too much happening to the characters over the course of two days, I beg you to remember that when we all get to Goldenrod in the game you catch about ten new Pokemon on those routes and battle about 15,000 different people, not even mentioning the Pokeathalon that they added in Heartgold and Soulsilver.
> 
> Anyway, things happen hot and heavy in this chapter, I hope you enjoy!

Chloe had said that they would be exploring the city, but Beca didn’t think it really counted as exploring when she was pulled along by the arm straight to the Department Store at the heart of the city. Beca wasn’t much of a shopper when it came to anything other than music supplies, but even she was impressed by the array of items that she could spot. She knew she couldn’t just be looking for music stuff now, though she still would, she had to look for stuff that could help and improve her Pokemon’s strength. They had the standard stuff like Potions and Pokeballs, but they also had TMs and Evolutionary Items that trainers would normally have to search the wilds for or special order for outrageous prices.

Her redheaded best friend seemed to be able to navigate through any mall on the planet as she lead Beca through the crowds in search of the things they needed. Beca could have guessed that the first place that they’d stop to spend some of their trainer winnings was one of those evolutionary item shops. She knew that Chloe would be looking into what her Eevee could evolve into, and would want to grab a stone for it when it was time for her to evolve her new friend. Beca let Chloe wander off, eyes locked onto the Pokedex app, obviously looking at the pros and cons of each evolution. Beca didn’t really want to focus on which stone could help her Eevee evolve. She wasn’t a competitive battler like Chloe and wanted more to bond and make her Eevee less of an asshole through that bond. After that had been accomplished then she’d see if Eevee wanted to evolve into anything specific. She wasn’t picky and would leave that choice up to it.

However, as Beca opened her own Pokedex app up, she looked up some of the Pokemon that she wanted to catch in the future to see if they had any stone requirements, but she found that the list of Pokemon she was interested in was pretty short at this point before something on the shelf caught her eye. It was a stone that seemed purple near the edges of it where it faded into pitch black near the center. Beca held her camera over the stone, the information popping up not too long after. It was a Dusk Stone, and as it listed all the Pokemon that could evolve from it Beca’s eyes locked onto Misdreavus. If she bought this then Misdreavus could become its evolved form Mismagius. 

Beca didn’t think that she nor Misdreavus were ready for something like that yet, but this was one of the rarer stones, more rare than Thunderstones and Fire Stones certainly. She might not find another one and she didn’t need to use it right away. She picked it up and stared at it closely before deciding she was doing the right thing and taking it over to the check out counter. Looking at the price, she really could only afford to buy this one thing at this moment. She’d have to battle more so she could afford pricey things like this in the future.

Surprisingly she met Chloe at the check out counter. Chloe waved happily at her before gasping at Beca’s choice of purchase. “You got a Dusk Stone! That’ll be great for your Misdreavus!”

“I figured when the time was right it would be a nice option to have.” Chloe nodded happily. “What did you get Chlo?”

She held up a bright stone, it almost seemed to be glowing. “A Shiny Stone. I don’t really need it now, but I just felt like I might need one someday.” She frowned a bit. “I was looking for Eevee, but none of the stones felt right.” 

“Go with your gut. It’s never been wrong before.” Beca gave her a comforting squeeze on her shoulder. Chloe’s eyes seemed to track up to Beca’s from the floor and stare for several long seconds. 

The silence drifted between them for a moment, only broken when Chloe whispered. “Yeah… it hasn’t.”

Beca’s hairs were standing on end from the close proximity and the heated stare from Chloe was something that had never really happened before. Beca was frozen, trying to unpack what exactly Chloe meant. However, a small clearing of the throat from the cashier broke them out of whatever that was, so that Chloe could walk up as if nothing happened to pay for her purchase. 

Beca shook it off, thinking it had been her imagination, and tried to get her breathing back to normal and stomach to stop fluttering. By the time it was her turn to pay she had gotten everything mostly under control. She paid quickly and met up with Chloe at the entrance to the store. “Where to next?”

Chloe seemed to be lost in thought. “I think I just need to go buy some TMs.”

The rest of the shopping trip was normal, except with Chloe being a little more reserved than normal. She bought a couple more TMs; ones that Beca couldn’t remember all at once, but she was sure would be useful in the future. It ended after that, with them heading back to the Pokemon Center, both of them to use the fields to train a bit, and Beca needed to talk to Misdreavus about the Dusk Stone and see if it had truly been a good idea to buy it.

It was pretty standard training session for both of them. They had both of their Eevee’s watching them have a practice battle, and both seemed incredibly interested in doing it themselves, but they were on doctor’s rest for the rest of the week. Beca’s Eevee had a really good look of not caring and not looking, even going so far as to pretend to sleep, but it couldn’t fool Beca. Every so often Beca would catch her Eevee looking at her without any malice of scorn, but seeming confused or maybe just interested in who she was. Beca didn’t let on that she could tell that she was being stared at. Eevee needed to process everything and Beca would let it have time to do that, she could tell that patience and letting Eevee come to her would help their bond more than trying to cuddle it and smother it with love like Chloe had been doing with hers, though that Eevee seemed to enjoy all the affection, eating it up with happy squeals.

The conversation with Misdreavus, really it was an exchange of feelings, had gone well. Misdreavus seemed touched that Beca had not only thought of it when purchasing this, but was leaving it up to Misdreavus to decide when it was ready to evolve. They both seemed to agree that it was too soon and there was more that Misdreavus could learn in its current form, but it was nice to know that Misdreavus was looking forward to its evolution.

They slept soundly that night, though it took them a while to fall asleep as Chloe was bouncing up and down in excitement at the Bug Catching Contest tomorrow evening. Beca was curious too. She didn’t have a Bug type and if she found one she liked, she wouldn’t hesitate to catch it. Plus, from what Nurse Joy told them, each Bug type released in the park had a points system with it and prizes could be bought with the points.

The next morning Beca was being shaken awake by her excited best friend at the ass crack of dawn. Chloe wanted to get a move on so that she could get a small training session in on the way there and have luck along the route between the main parts of Goldenrod City and where the Park was located. Beca groaned but couldn’t say no to Chloe and got up anyway. She grumpily watched as Chloe trained, having Poliwag continue to walk, Ledian work on accuracy, and Bayleef on its reach.

In what was still way to early to be headed there already, they set off along the route. There were many trainers on this route, some training or some on their way to the park. They stopped and had a couple battles with them, but nothing really different than how their usual day to day was. When it got close to noon and the park was in sight, they settled down for their picnic lunch.

It was going well, they were talking about Pokemon, and about life in general.

“So, what do you wanna do after you crush the Johto League?”

Chloe beamed under the praise. “I was thinking that I could travel like your brother does. Go to the different regions and catch Pokemon and train them until my future house is full of all of my friends.” Chloe seemed to become even brighter at the thought. “Then, I don’t know… maybe I’ll try to become a Gym Leader or something… depends where I wanna settle down at.”

Beca hummed. “You’d make a good Gym Leader, hell, maybe even champion of a region.” 

Chloe blushed. “You’re just saying that.” 

“No, I believe you can do absolutely anything you set your mind to, Chlo.” She reached forward and squeezed her hand. “Just don’t forget about us little people when you’re all famous.”

Chloe grasped her hand back, tighter. There was something different about the way she held her hand and the way that she looked at her at this moment. It reminded her of the look back in the Department Store. “I would never forget you… or leave you behind.” She cleared her throat, letting her hand go. The look dropped from her face as she stared at the ground before looking back up at her with zero trace of the heated look on her face, just a teasing smile. “I should be the one telling you that, Miss famous music producer.”

Now it was Beca’s turn to be flustered under her praise. Before they had gone back to the Pokemon Center yesterday, they’d stopped by the Radio Tower, asked to speak to someone there about Beca’s music. A guy named Theo had appeared and taken the flash drive from her, promising to give it a listen, though he looked like he said this to every person that tried to give him something to listen to, so Beca wasn’t too hopeful that her songs would be given a chance. But, she’d keep going back for as long as it took to be given a shot.

“We’ll see, I guess, but I couldn’t leave you either. I know that much.”

Chloe’s face broke out in a soft smile, that look shown again as she whispered a small ‘good’ in response. Beca felt like her insides were heating up and she didn’t know how long she could stand being under that gaze of Chloe’s and she needed a way to get a reprieve from it. The universe would present a prime opportunity by what happened next.

The bushes near their picnic blanket rustled and a small purple quadruped Pokemon appeared seeming to be following its nose towards their picnic. It took Beca a minute to recognize the Pokemon, but she did. It was a Nidoran, the male version of it if the big ears and the purple coloring was anything to go by. She sprung up and felt that pull in her gut that she’d felt when she’d encountered Misdreavus and she knew that this Nidoran would be hers.

She pulled out Misdreavus’ Pokeball and sent her out to the field. The Nidoran looked stunned at having encountered people. Its love for food had left it vulnerable, and while Beca felt a bit bad about surprising it like this, it was the way that normal trainers capitalized on similar situations, and she couldn’t stare at Chloe’s earnest eyes any longer anyway. 

“Misdreavus, use Psybeam!”

Nidoran really had no chance. It seemed to still be frightened by their mere presence of them, so the super effective attack hit it dead center and sent it back a ways. It lay their twitching for a moment before Beca threw a Pokeball dead center and it sucked the small Poison Point Pokemon into the capsule. It shook three times before it dinged that Nidoran had been captured. 

She cheered, congratulating Misdreavus on a job well done. As she went to retrieve her Pokeball, however, Beca heard a sound that she never wanted to hear again as long as she lived. It was a cry of absolute despair. It was rage and sadness all in one, and it grated on Beca’s ears and made her heart break. It made her pause as she looked around for the cause, and she didn’t have to look far. A small blue quadruped was standing only feet away, glaring at her. It was a female Nidoran, its horn was smaller and its coloring was blue, but it was a Poison type as well, and its jaws were also incredibly dangerous, and by the looks of it, it wanted to use all that poison and bite on Beca. 

Chloe had sucked in a breath. “Beca… nice and slow back away from the Pokeball.”

Beca wanted to listen to her, but she felt like if she moved at all, the small Poison Pin Pokemon was going to leap at her. However, it didn’t seem like staying still was in the books either as it screamed in anger at her again before launching some pins at her in a Poison Sting attack. Beca closed her eyes, dropping and grabbing the Pokeball as she wait to be hit by the nasty attack. But, just as her hand closed around the Pokeball, a force hit her from the side and shoved her out of the way. She opened her eyes even as she fell and saw Chloe in her place; arms crossed getting struck by the Poison Sting attack.

In that moment, it didn’t matter that they had Antidote in their bags and bandages for the tiny pinpricks that were inevitable from this kind of attack. All that mattered was that Chloe had protected her and in the process put herself in danger. And the absolute worst part was that Beca couldn’t remember for the life of her if its Poison Sting attack could be fatal if not treated, or it was if you got stuck directly by a barb on its body. Beca hit the ground and looked back up, wild eyed and worried to see Chloe swaying on her feet already, making her think that she had only minutes to get to Chloe before something bad happened. The Nidoran still looked pissed, but now shocked as well to see that this red-haired trainer had taken the hit it had intended for the brunette one. 

Chloe dropped to her knees, unable to hold herself up anymore and spoke so softly that Beca could barely hear her, or maybe she was trying not to let Beca hear her.

“That Nidoran that Beca caught… it was someone special to you wasn’t it?”

The Nidoran turned to glare at Beca again before it was distracted by a strong wave of Chloe’s hand and a glare. “No! Look at me.” The small Pokemon did. “You’re defending someone you love, so am I. You don’t get to touch her no matter what.” Beca felt herself get warm and tears spring to her eyes at how defensive Chloe sounded of her. She felt waves rush in her ears as the emotions all hit her. Chloe’s defensiveness and the fact that she’d thrown herself in front of a wild Pokemon attack to defend Beca, her heartfelt words and soft touches, her earnest eyes, and the fact that she might be dying right now due to the poison of the Nidoran made tears spring to her eyes. She couldn’t see, couldn’t hear, and couldn’t speak as her throat closed up in worry.

By the time she was able to breathe again, she saw Chloe move and set a Pokeball down in front of the angry Nidoran and whisper something to it. The Nidoran glared over at Beca again before looking forlornly at the Pokeball still grasped in her hand. It didn’t seem to think twice as it pressed the center button of the Pokeball and was sucked in.

Beca was shocked to say the least. What had Chloe said to the Pokemon to make it want to be caught? She looked at Chloe’s face for a moment and thought she saw a small smile, but it didn’t last as Chloe slumped and fell over onto her side. Beca gasped and scrambled up, Misdreavus hovering over her shoulder in worry. “Chloe!”

Beca grabbed an Antidote out of her bag. “Misdreavus can you use your telekinesis to pull out the Poison Sting needles?”

Misdreavus concentrated for a bit and pulled the many needles out of Chloe’s arm. They were tiny; barely enough to pierce skin and small enough that even as they were pulled out, no blood or gross stuff came out. Beca counted that as a blessing before spraying the antidote over the wounds and biting her lip, waiting and hoping. Chloe’s breath seemed to ease and her face relaxed in her unconsciousness. Beca breathed a sigh of relief. With any luck, Chloe would be awake in a couple hours and they’d be able to still make the Bug Catching Contest. 

She pulled her Pokedex app up on her phone and searched for Nidoran’s entry. She breathed a bigger sigh of relief when she learned that it was only being poked by a Nidoran’s horn directly that a fatal result could occur from its poison. As she looked at the picture of Nidoran, she was brought back to what Chloe had been saying to it. She had seemed to think that the Nidoran that Beca caught was the mate of the female Nidoran. If that was the case, everything that just happened made complete sense, and Beca obviously felt awful. 

She pulled out her Nidoran’s Pokeball and knew that she needed to apologize. Her eyes flicked to Chloe’s Nidoran, still in its Pokeball. She needed to apologize to both of them for what she’d unknowingly caused. She decided she’d start with the easier one and released her Nidoran. 

It still looked pretty beat up, but looked around before locking on Beca and seizing up in fear. It was obviously a timid personality, but Beca tried to put on a smile and leaned down so she was as close to its level as she could get. “Hi there, I’m… I’m really sorry that I surprised you like that. I wasn’t thinking and got too far ahead of myself.” She rubbed the back of her neck, feeling the awkwardness stretch between them. “I fucked up, and I hope you can forgive me.” She gently offered her hand to the Nidoran who still didn’t move. Beca frowned in thought of how to establish some level of trust to this Pokemon that she’d blindsided. 

Her eyes caught their picnic basket and she smiled, remembering what had brought the Nidoran out into the clearing in the first place. She reached in and grabbed a sugary doughnut out of it and offered it to the Nidoran who perked up and shuffled closer. “Can we start over?”

The Nidoran looked at her and took a bite out of the doughnut with a happy chirp of affirmation before it stood still again in shock. Beca thought she’d done something wrong before the small purple Pokemon sniffed the air and trotted over to Chloe’s Pokeball holding his mate. He cried sadly and pawed at the capsule and it broke Beca’s heart all over again. She steeled herself for what she had to do next and grabbed Chloe’s Pokeball.

When Chloe’s Nidoran appeared it looked around before spotting its mate and hopped over with an excited squeal and they nuzzled each other in what Chloe would call adorable. Beca summarized it with a small hum. When it persisted she cleared her throat awkwardly. “Guys.”

The blue Nidoran looked over and glared at her, but Beca held up her hands. “Hey, look, I didn’t mean to start anything. I got ahead of myself. I already apologized to him, but I kinda feel like I should apologize to you too.” The Nidoran looked surprised, but didn’t attack so Beca continued. “I fucked up, and I’m sorry. I’m glad you’re traveling with Chloe now, cause that means you and your guy can stick together.”

The Nidoran nodded, eyes looking over at Chloe with what looked to be remorse and worry. Chloe had certainly bonded with it in the few moments that they had shared; Beca wondered what she’d said to it. “She’ll be okay. Just needs some time to sleep it off and let the Antidote work.”

The Nidoran nodded before returning to talking with its mate. Beca saw that they were no longer any threat and recalled Misdreavus. She settled in by Chloe, moving her hand up to her cheek to push some hair away from her face. “You’re so dumb, Chlo… you shouldn’t have done that for me.” She paused, letting the emotions come again, this time slower and more easily manageable. “Thank you.” She smiled and leaned down to place a small kiss on her forehead. 

When she came up from that small affection she saw both Nidoran sitting on Chloe’s other side, both looking at Beca with what seemed to be a knowing look. She glared at them half-heartedly. “We don’t know each other like that yet, guys.” Her Nidoran seemed to find this amusing an chuckled, settling down to wait, while Chloe’s Nidoran stared at her a little longer. She looked between Beca and Chloe before nodding a bit and lying down next to her mate. Beca didn’t know why, but the fact that Nidoran seemed to be acting like she knew something made her want to know what Chloe had said even more.

 

Chloe had woken up within the hour and been completely fine. She had quickly assured her new capture that she was fine and that she didn’t blame her at all. Next had been assuring Beca because you’re damn right that Beca was still upset about Chloe throwing herself into danger just to save Beca, but Chloe had simply told her that it wasn’t even a thought in her mind to react a different way. It shut Beca up for now as the warm feeling coursed through her, and also because she knew had the situation been reversed, she’d have done the exact same thing.

The third thing that Chloe had asked about was if they had missed the Bug Catching Contest. It was such a Chloe thing to be worried about something like that after a big situation like they’d just gone through. Beca had told her that they still had two hours before they had to be there, plenty of time for them to rest before she tried to put more stress on her body.

They’d rested a bit more, learning more about their Nidoran companions. The Poison Pin Pokemon were small, but knew a few useful moves and each could grow and become absolute powerhouses as their final forms. Beca looked nervously at how intimidating her cute, but gluttonous, Nidoran could be as a Nidoking. She’d have to keep it well fed if she didn’t want to be dinner. When she told Chloe this, Chloe had laughed like she was telling a joke, and Beca didn’t have the heart to tell her that she was being serious.

They’d eaten and introduced their Pokemon to one another, which went well except for Beca’s Eevee that went to sleep under a tree. Beca could tell that it was watching the new additions and her with a curious look, even if it was only peeking out of one of its eyes. Then they packed up, as the sun began its descent, and began making their way back towards National Park where the Contest would be held. The gates weren’t hard to miss, and there was a receptionist taking names and handing out special Pokeballs along with some small plastic bags.

Beca and Chloe made their way to the receptionist who greeted them with a smile. “Hi ladies! Here for the Bug Catching Contest?”

“Yes, ma’am!” Chloe was excitedly hopping up and down. Beca smiled at her as well and nodded. 

“Okay, so here’s how it goes. You have an hour to search the entire park. We give you a bag of food that is supposed to attract Bug types to you. Once you’ve located a Pokemon you can use these Park Balls to catch it. It has a greater chance than a standard Pokeball, which is why we ask that you don’t battle any of the Pokemon that you try to catch.” She frowned. “We used to make trainers leave their Pokemon at the front desk, but once this got popular and we had so many trainers coming in, we decided that it was too much to keep track of and it’d be an honor system. We allow status moves such as Sleep Powder and Confuse Ray, if you guys wish, but other than that, please do not battle any of the Bug types.”

She handed them their stuff and continued with the last bit of information. “If you capture a Bug type, no matter what, its points will be totaled and added to your Trainer ID on your app. You can trade those points in for prizes in the other gatehouse after the Contest has concluded. Also, if you choose to keep the Pokemon you caught in the Park, we will transfer it to a regular Pokeball for you. If you choose not to, you will keep the points and the Pokemon will be released back into the Park.”

They both nodded in understanding and received a couple Park Balls, as well as the bag of treats. Chloe skipped off inside ahead of Beca and seemed to be overflowing with happiness, showing no signs of ill effects from the Poison Sting attack. Beca just sauntered in after her, trying not to smile at how sunny and alive Chloe was in that moment. Beca never wanted to leave her rays of sunshine, which is what made it such a surprise when Chloe said it might be best if they split up.

“You don’t want me around?” Beca tried not to let the hurt in her voice show.

Chloe patted her shoulder. “It’s not like that, Beca. Bug types are shy and easy to scare. If it’s both of us then we might fight over a Pokemon we find, or we might scare off all the Pokemon.”

Beca saw the logic and that and sighed. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense.”

Chloe squeezed her in a tight hug. “Don’t worry, I’ll let you use some of the points I get to buy something at the prize shop.” Her eyes twinkle in competition. “You know, when I beat you.”

Beca found herself smirking. “I wasn’t gonna try that hard, but now I might just to wipe that cocky smirk off your face, Beale.”

She giggled and winked at Beca, making her heart thump in that pleasantly unpleasant way that she was used to. “Bring it on, Mitchell.”

So that’s how she found herself in a wooded part of National Park, alone with Misdreavus and Noibat. She hadn’t seen a damn thing, let alone a Bug Pokemon, and she was beginning to get frustrated and, for the first time since they began their journey weeks ago, she was without Chloe’s presence. And, against her better judgment, it seemed like her mind wasn’t going to give her a reprieve from thinking about her redheaded crush. It was all she could think about, and soon, she found a cut down tree, the stump at the right height to sit on, so she did. She sat there and looked to see Misdreavus frowning at her in concern. 

“Don’t worry, dude. It’s just the usual stuff. She knows I’m gay now, but doesn’t know I like her.” Beca rubs at her eyes as she places her elbows on her knees. “I don’t know if she’s totally okay with the gay thing either, cause she’s been giving me these really… intense stares, and I have no idea what that’s about either.”

Misdreavus floated down and Beca felt her brush against her hair. She sighed as Misdreavus began to play with her hair soothingly. “God… I have to tell her at some point or I might fucking explode. If this were just… a passing crush or whatever, I would have been over it ages ago. But… I can’t tell her. If she… no, when she rejects me, I can’t stay on this journey with her.” She feels Misdreavus start a braid on the side of her head with some of the hair hanging over her ear. “Maybe if the Radio Tower hires me, I can tell her and give her time to come to terms with it so that we can still be friends.” She groaned and buried her face in her hands.

Misdreavus made a small noise of what sounded like agreement. Beca resolved that she would tell Chloe someday… just not anytime soon. It was as she came to the agreement with herself that Noibat perked up and sounded a bit distressed from the trees above. Beca frowned and looked around for what could have caused him to sound a little frightened. And it was then that several things all registered in Beca’s mind.

Number One was that the tree stump of the fallen tree she was sitting on was not the only one in the small clearing. Number Two was that all of the stumps did not break naturally; they had been cut by something sharp. And Number Three was that there was a large Scyther staring at her from the other side of the clearing. Once all of these registered with her, the overall conclusion became very apparent to Beca. She was in a Scyther’s territory and practice field, and it was looking at her like she might make a good practice dummy.

“Oh shit.” She breathed to herself. She stood slowly as the Scyther walked towards her. It raised its scythes and Beca didn’t really know what to do. She glanced at Misdreavus, who seemed to shrug. Beca followed suit and matched the Scyther, by putting her arms up. The Scyther looked somewhat surprised. Its wings fluttered and before Beca could blink, it appeared in front of her like a goddamn ninja. She froze and it seemed to look at her, even more intimidating up close. It sniffed her and, before she blinked again, it was over by her bag. She smirked and realized that even something as badass as a Scyther was attracted to the Bug type baits that she’d been given at the gate.

Beca tried to reach out and touch Misdreavus’ mind and get her attention, as she was still close by. She felt the push back and willed Misdreavus to use her telekinetic powers to slowly and quietly move one of those Park Balls into her hand to use on the Scyther before it got its fill of the bait and chopped Beca in half. Misdreavus did it quickly and efficiently, and before Beca could really think twice about it, she threw it directly at Scyther’s unsuspecting thorax. It let out no sound as it struck, but Beca couldn’t help but see a look of surprise before one of grudging respect pass over the Scyther’s face before it was sucked into the Park Ball. 

Beca watched with baited breath as it rocked back and forth violently, the Bug type obviously fighting the thought of being captured. But it all seemed in vain when the ball stopped and dinged a successful capture. Beca breathed a sigh of relief at the weird series of events that had just transpired. Either Scyther had underestimated her, or at least didn’t think that she’d had to ability to grab the Park Balls that were closer to it than her, or it was just focused on the food. Beca assumed the former due to the small reaction she’d seen as it was sucked into the Park Ball.

She went and picked it up, looking up to the sky as the small clock sounded the end of the tournament. She smirked as she pulled up her Trainer ID to see the points fly up onto the screen. It summed up to about four hundred and fifty points, which she thought was a lot and she might actually have a shot at beating Chloe’s score. It made her feel really good. After unloading some of her built up emotions to Misdreavus and now seeming to earn respect from a Scyther, continue to get Eevee’s grudging respect, and to have a happily, gluttonous Nidoran love her just for her food alone, she felt light, like almost everything was within reach.

As she made her way back to the entrance, Misdreavus floating just over her shoulder and Noibat flying in the air above her, she couldn’t help but feel like if she could earn respect from great Pokemon like she’d gotten just today, let alone the ones she’s had from earlier, then maybe having Chloe love her back wasn’t so far-fetched.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think? 
> 
> Nidorans for both our girls, Nidoran's who are dating, hopefully that might get our girls moving!
> 
> And a Scyther for Beca! Someone in the comments called it so congrats to them!
> 
> Also what's up with Chloe being all weird... stay tuned to find out ;)
> 
> As for where we are going next, there will be a bit of another time jump between where we are currently and where the next one shot picks up. Don't worry, we'll do a recap to let you know what all happens to our girls before next time. I haven't decided if I'm going to do Ecruteak City cause some big stuff happens there for Beca and Chloe, or if I'm going to jump to the big chapter of their trip to Cianwood. We'll see what I feel like writing next time I sit down to do it!
> 
> Love you guys, and thank you for supporting this story. Your comments and kudos give me life and drive to keep working on it. <3


	7. Ecruteak City (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We catch up with Beca and Chloe in the aftermath of the Bug Catching Contest, Chloe's Goldenrod City Gym Battle, and their first bit of adventure in the rustic Ecruteak City!
> 
> With Chloe going up against Morty, and a surprise coming for Beca, how will things pan out for our two favorite ladies!?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe its been more than a month since I've updated. It didn't feel that long I swear. Grad School started and I feel so overwhelmed, but I had this chapter 3/4 of the way done and I just needed to finish it so I can do a couple smaller projects that I can handle in my limited time off. Don't worry, I'm still here and will still be updating this, but because I liked to do longer chapters for this, they might be infrequent to once or twice a month when I can manage. I'll try to do more around the holidays when I can, but you know how life be.
> 
> Enjoy this one, with a little angst thrown in :P

Beca didn’t usually feel like she got anything over on Chloe, especially not when it came to Pokemon, so she couldn’t help but feel smug when she came out of the Bug Catching Contest with a Scyther, while Chloe had apparently been too loud and excited to draw a single Bug type to her. She had done her best to cheer her friend up, promising to share her points that she’d earn from Scyther so they could both get a few things from the prize corner at the gatehouse. 

Chloe had cheered up after that and marveled at Beca’s new Pokemon with her. Scyther seemed to be a pretty focused Pokemon. It had squared right up to Beca as soon as it was let out of its Pokeball, the one it was transferred into after they made it back to the gatehouse. Beca had stood her ground and it seemed to get a gleam of approval in its eyes. Next it had squared up to Chloe who had cooed and fawned over it, making it step back in shock and shoot Beca an uncomfortable look that she knew all too well from her own experience with Chloe’s lack of boundaries. 

After they were all acquainted, they headed to the prize corner. Beca’s Scyther had gotten her a decent three hundred and fifty points to spend here. She and Chloe both clocked the evolutionary items in the corner, ranging from one hundred points to one hundred and fifty points. They headed over and Beca allowed Chloe to choose first, allowing her to spend some of her points for something. Chloe quickly chose a Moon Stone as her prize; they were decently common around Kanto and Johto so it only cost Beca one hundred points. Beca, knowing that Moon Stones could evolve both of their Nidorans in the future, so she followed Chloe’s lead and grabbed one for herself. With Chloe taken care of, as far as prizes went, Beca let herself browse the rest of the collection for anything that her Pokemon could use in the future. In the corner, right behind the TMs, was a Metal Coat, able to make Onix or Scythers evolve into their final forms. It was a rare find, and she only saw one, priced at one hundred and fifty points, exactly what she had left. 

After they had grabbed it and packed it away with her new Moon Stone, she and Chloe made their way back to Goldenrod City where Chloe had a Gym battle in a few days. It was a pleasant trip back, and the next few days were spent in training. Chloe had to get her Nidoran ready to battle with her team; more walking practice with Poliwag, and starting on her Eevee once it was medically cleared. Beca began to bond with her new Scyther, who was incredibly quick. Beca had done the Pokedex research on it to determine it was a Scyther with the Technician ability, letting some of its weaker moves hit for a lot more damage. Once her Eevee was fully cleared it started training too. It would listen to about three fourths of what Beca told it to, but its rebellious streak was still in place, leading to a lot of frustration from Beca in that short time.

Chloe’s battle against Whitney went relatively smoothly. Whitney was a Normal type Gym Leader, making her a bit unpredictable. But, with the combined might of Nidoran’s Double Kick, and the surprise evolution of Poliwag into Poliwhirl, Chloe came out on top. After she received her Plain Badge, they spent the rest of the night celebrating her victory. 

It was the next day that Beca got a call from the Radio Station to come down for a meeting. She left Chloe at the Pokemon Center while she trained, and went to meet with the same Theo guy that she’d left her demo with. She was incredibly nervous about what he might say, but she figured it had to be some level of good news or they wouldn’t have called her at all. When she did get there, she was ushered into a posh room with gold records hung on all the walls. She fidgeted, wondering if she’d get in trouble for letting Misdreavus or Noibat out of their Pokeballs to help calm her down. She didn’t have to wait long until Theo opened the door.  
Beca felt like she was having an out of body experience throughout the whole meeting, but remembered almost everything about it. She remembered Theo telling her that he and the higher ups had loved her demos and mash ups. They wanted to give her a slot on the midday portion of their music division, play her own stuff and whatever else she wanted to show off. He said that it was a start, and that in the future they might sign her on as an artist or producer, depending on what she showed promise in.

She couldn’t fight the smile that was growing on her face. This was the largest show in the region, and she was getting an opportunity to play for them. This was her dream. It wasn’t until Theo began mentioning offices for her, and which booth she’d be taking that she snapped out of her fairytale. 

“There’s no way for me to do this from my laptop? I know how to mix and everything and I know the tech. I can broadcast on the go.”

Theo looked at her strangely. “But, we have nice offices here. We can see you progress easier here. Why would you not want that?”

Beca bit her lip, choosing her next words carefully. “I’m on a Pokemon journey right now. With my, with Chloe. I can’t just… quit.” 

Theo had hummed. “You do realize that it’ll take longer for your career to take off if you’re out there and the only thing we hear and see are finished products right? And when we do want to sign you on, you’ll have to be available and here… it could be years of this grunt work.”

Beca winced, fingers beginning to twitch at her sides. “I’m still just sixteen… I don’t want a huge rise to fame, or any fame at all really. I just want to be paid for making music.” She looked up at him, gaining confidence. “Taking the midday on the go is still being paid for what I’m doing, and I don’t care if it takes years, I just really feel like I have to stay on this journey with Chloe.”

Theo had looked shocked at that, but had agreed eventually. “If you’re okay with it, then we are too… for now.” And while that had sounded foreboding, he had ensured her that as long as she kept putting out good songs and her viewership stayed consistent, then she’d have no problems from them.  
So, she’d come back to the Pokemon Center and had to sit through an immediate interrogation from Chloe. When she got to the part about her turning down their offer of a booth there, Chloe’s eyes and expression changed. Beca couldn’t tell if it was pain, sadness, pride, smugness… it was all mixed together. 

“You shouldn’t have turned down your dream for me, Beca…” 

You’re my dream, Beca wanted to say, but she held it in and simply spoke. “It wasn’t just for you. It’s been a long time since I was this happy and this content. Even sitting behind my laptop and making music, it just doesn’t fill me with the same amount of fulfillment that traveling with you does.” Beca reached forward and boldly took Chloe’s hand. “It’ll always be a big part of my life, and I still love it with every fiber of my being, but I did this for me because, for the first time in a while, I’m happy.”

Chloe had given her a bright smile and squeezed her hand back, tears gathering in her eyes. Beca tried to pull back, the emotion a little much for her, but Chloe launched herself across the table to give her a tight hug, even as Beca tried to fight it. 

Chloe just held on tighter. “No. This is happening.”

Beca just sighed, her mouth twitching up into a half smile as she awkwardly patted the redhead on the back. 

After that, a few more days of training, they set off on a couple days trip to Ecruteak City. They couldn’t go too far until all of Beca’s paperwork was finalized, so they just planned a few nights at the Ecruteak City Pokemon Center while Chloe took on the Gym Leader and they checked out some of the sights like the Kimono Girls dancing studio and the Burned Tower. Beca had plans to really crack down on her training now. Part of that drive was her feeling the high from achieving the first step in her dream; the other part was that she actually started to feel like a Pokemon Trainer. Up to this point, it had just seemed like she was a person that had some Pokemon, but now with almost a full team of six, she felt like this was a part of her just as music was, and just as Chloe was.

It was their second day in Ecruteak, a rustic town that felt like a throwback to towns many years ago in design, when they decided to try their hand at the Gym. From the talk around the Pokemon Center they found out that Morty, the Gym Leader, was a Ghost type expert, as well as the town historian. He was bright, kind, and intellectual, hosting classes for the young children of the town, as well as helping upkeep the old buildings, including the Burned Tower. 

The man they met at the Gym was exactly as described. He wore dark clothes, along with a purple bandana on his head, his dirty blonde hair kept behind it and a kind smile on his face as he greeted them. Beca couldn’t help but be at ease almost immediately, a good feeling coming from him that really helped her genuinely smile. Chloe must have noticed because she gave her a curious head tilt. Beca didn’t really know how to explain it, but she shook his hand and introduced herself.

The situation explained itself the moment that a shadow appeared behind Morty’s shoulder. It was a dark purple and black Pokemon with red gems, taller and larger than her Misdreavus. It was a Mismagius and it was staring right at Beca. Morty looked as surprised as she was and gave a confused glance to his Mismagius. 

“What is it?” 

Mismagius floated over to Beca and hovered near her waist; near her Pokeballs. She felt a Psychic aura fall over her and grip one of them, Misdreavus’ Pokeball, and lift it off her belt, calling the Ghost type out. Misdreavus looked around confused before locking eyes with the Mismagius and tilting its head slightly. 

Morty frowned. “She’s never done this before…” He glanced at Beca’s Misdreavus curiously before glancing back at Mismagius. “Now? You sure?”

Mismagius simply gazed back at him before he nodded. “Alright, fine.” He turned back to Beca. “Mismagius here wants to battle your Misdreavus. Seems like you might be thinking about evolving it?”

Beca’s hand went to her pack, where she knew the Dusk Stone was at. Feeling its weight, she nodded. “I have one, but didn’t know if we were ready.”

He smiled easily back at her. “Then what do you say to a little one on one? Mismagius here was my first Pokemon, and as an expert on Ghost types, I can get a good read on things.” He winced and turned back to Chloe. “I’m so sorry, do you mind if we do a quick one on one? I’ll battle you straight after.”

Chloe waved him off. “That’s totally fine! Beca and Misdreavus are super close though, so watch out!” 

Morty gave a small laugh. “Thanks for the warning.” He, with Mismagius floating along beside him, made his way to the other end of the battlefield. Beca moved to the middle of her Trainer’s Box while Misdreavus floated out the center of the battlefield. 

Beca felt her heart jump as she locked eyes with Morty across the field. This wasn’t her first battle by any means, but this was her first Gym Leader. Not only that, but this was the evolved form of her Pokemon, and it’d been Morty’s first Pokemon he’d ever gotten. The odds were incredibly stacked against her, and she knew that she needed to play this smart and trust in Misdreavus.

“You ready?”

“Ready!”

“You may have the first attack!”

Beca’s mind raced, before she took a calming breath and locked her jaw in place. “Misdreavus, Shadow Ball!”

Misdreavus locked and loaded the Ghost type attack, throwing it hard and fast at its evolved form. Mismagius simply seemed to disappear and the attack sailed harmlessly through where it was. Beca bit her lip in anticipation. Her Misdreavus was slower and had less power than Mismagius, she’d need to use trickery and timing to win.

“Mismagius, Magical Leaf!”

Beca’s mind whirled fast. Magical Leaf didn’t miss, so there was no use telling Misdreavus to dodge it. “Misdreavus, Payback!”

The leaves seemed to come from nowhere, and hit Misdreavus square on, but as they did, a purple light flared and shot to the right, impacting the hidden Mismagius, doing super effective damage. 

“I’m impressed. That takes some quick thinking!” Morty praised her from the other end of the field. “Let’s see what else you’ve got! Mismagius, Phantom Force!”

Beca cursed. She couldn’t hit it no matter what she did now. And Phantom Force, when it struck was going to be incredibly effective, if not finish the battle outright. “Perish Song!”

Morty’s face looked stunned, as Misdreavus began the doleful tune. Beca was a bit of a musical savant, so any Pokemon move that made mention to music or song was something she was interested in knowing all about. Perish Song was a hard move for Pokemon to master, but she and Misdreavus had worked on it during their training sessions a lot. Any opposing Pokemon that heard the song would be knocked out after a period of time. Now all Beca had to do was survive long enough to let it work its magic.

The Phantom Force struck right after Misdreavus completed its song, sending the little Ghost type into the wall and causing it to cry out in pain. Mismagius hovered near it, as it floated back up. “Perish Song was a good try, but we’ll just have to finish you off sooner rather than later! Mismagius move in and use Astonish!”  
“Misdreavus, Confuse Ray!”

Mismagius was too close, using its physical move to dodge it when Misdreavus’ eyes flashed. Mismagius wobbled in the air, showing the effects already. Beca and Misdreavus had them off balance and she needed to push and keep them back peddling to let Perish Song do its job. “Hex!”

Misdreavus’ eyes glowed a purple light and the same purple aura appeared around Mismagius, doing super effective damage, plus extra as it had the status condition of Confusion. Mismagius wailed in pain and tried to shake the remnants off, but a haze seemed to descend from the walls and Mismagius’ wail was cut off as Perish Song, a haunting tune that came from every direction, sounded again and knocked it out quietly.

Beca whooped and leapt over to Misdreavus who was smiling tiredly. “We did it!”

“You did.” She turned and saw Morty smiling at her. “Ghost types are all about using trickery, speed, and discord to your advantage, and you did perfectly. Not to mention that your bond with your Misdreavus is something special.” He gave a sharp nod to her bag. “I think, if you guys are want to, that you’re ready for the next step.”

Beca looked to Misdreavus. “It’s your decision. Whatever makes you happy.”

Misdreavus floated to Beca’s bag and unlocked the straps with her telekinetic powers. She gave Beca a happy nod and buzzed around in front of her in excitement. Beca slid the backpack off her shoulders and crouched down to dig through it. She took the stone and carefully took it out of its small velvet baggy. She took a deep breath and held it out to Misdreavus. 

She hovered closer and touched the stone, a dark and inky aura encompassed them both for a few seconds before a blinding white light, the one of evolution, shot through the black mass. Misdreavus grew in shape, a wide brimmed hat replaced the tentacles on her head, while the beads on her chest grew and elongated into an almost egg shape around her neck. Her tiny dress body also grew, looking more like a cloak wrapped around her. 

The light faded and Misdreavus, now a Mismagius, cried out its new name in delight. Beca could feel the difference in power and would make a point to go over with her Pokedex app, what new moves could be learned and would be useful to her. But, for now, she could see Chloe barely holding herself back from this private moment, so she simply smiled at her Pokemon and thanked Morty for the battle, moving over to Chloe, who congratulated them both and gushed over how beautiful Mismagius looked. Mismagius held her gaze with a small smile before pulling an over-exaggerated scary face and surprising Chloe who tripped over herself to get away from the Magical Pokemon. Beca couldn’t help but laugh along with Mismagius. Apparently, evolution didn’t cure a prankster personality.

Morty chuckled as well and called Chloe over, whom skirted around the Mismagius who was looking mighty pleased with itself. She stood in front of Morty and regained her smile. “I’m ready.”

“How does a two of two battle sound to you?”

Chloe thought about it for only a moment. “Sounds like a plan! Just get that badge ready for me!”

Morty smiled and backed away to his trainer’s box, while Chloe retreated to her own. “You can switch out Pokemon whenever you want, but I can’t, and if you beat me then you’ll get the Fog Badge.”

 

Beca had expected a lot of things from Chloe’s battle with Morty, but none of those expectations had the red head losing. It happened so slowly, that Beca didn’t even register the result when the dust had cleared. Chloe had gone with her Poliwhirl and Eevee against Morty’s Haunter and Gengar. In theory, Chloe’s plan was sound. She had counted on Poliwhirl’s defense and sturdiness to offset Haunter’s quickness, and had counted on Eevee being able to hit Gengar without fear of its Ghost type moves, since it was a Normal type. She’d misjudged horribly, however, and Haunter had sped around Poliwhirl, never taking a hit and chipping away until Poliwhirl was out of the fight. Eevee had faired a bit better. Morty was thrown off by the use of a Normal type, as their attacks didn’t do much against Ghost types, but Chloe and Eevee had a trick up their sleeve, a Ghost type move of their own in Shadow Ball. It had disposed of Haunter handily, but by the time that Gengar was sent out, they’d revealed their hand and there was nothing to be done.

Morty had complimented Chloe on her try and encouraged her to come back, when she thought she was ready again. He gave Beca a warm smile, but it didn’t register with her as she took in the shell-shocked look on her best friend’s face. Beca tentatively stepped up to Chloe and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Chlo?”

Chloe stiffened and plastered a fake grin on her face. “I’ll get him next time, right? Just more training to be done.” Beca could still see the determination there, but Chloe didn’t look the same. As they walked back to the Pokemon Center, her shoulders were hunched and she looked ready to fall in on herself at any moment. It may have just been turning to dusk in the sky, but Beca needed to get her into bed.

It all went well, Chloe looked nice and comfy, snuggled up with two extra covers in her bed, when Beca left her there to turn in herself. It wasn’t until a dream had Beca jolting awake in the middle of the night, and looked over to see Chloe’s bed empty that Beca realized she’d been tricked.

It didn’t take very long to find her either, she was out of the practice field, running drills with her Pokemon. The Pokemon all looked pretty wore out, but they had nothing on Chloe herself. She looked ready to fall over, as she wobbled in place, still directing attacks from each of her exhausted team. 

This time, there was no gentleness to Beca’s touch on her shoulder. There was no room for argument. “Its time to rest, Chloe, for you and them.”

Chloe paused before rolling her shoulders, dislodging Beca’s hand from her and gave another order for an attack. Beca bit her lip. Chloe had always partially listened to her, and never ignored her. This was new territory, and with a silent apology to Chloe’s team, she turned around and sat on a nearby bench to watch. She told herself that it was because she would need to pick up and carry Chloe back to their room when she collapsed, but really it was because Beca was worried about her.  
Beca knew that hours passed, as Chloe worked herself and her Pokemon to the bone. Beca could see Bayleef and Eevee giving each other sad looks at Chloe’s behavior, but none of them made a sound about the late training session, so Beca decided to follow their lead. Pokemon were good like that, able to understand their trainer’s emotions better than other humans, just look at Beca’s Mismagius as a prime example. 

It wasn’t until the sun was peaking over the horizon and shone directly into Beca’s tired eyes that she realized that Chloe had trained straight through the night. Chloe seemed to realize it too and quietly thanked her Pokemon and returned them quietly. Beca watched her move sluggishly into the Pokemon Center and down the hall to their room, not even sparing Beca a glance as she did so. 

Beca frowned in a mix of worry and frustration before felt the familiar comfort of Mismagius’ presence beside her. She spared her Pokemon a glance, but there was no comfort there. Mismagius looked just as worried as Beca felt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you all think? Beca and Misdreavus finally took that last step for them and Beca now has a fully evolved Pokemon. I know some of you may be thinking that she should be closer to Noibat, but don't worry, Noibat features much more later on in the story and Beca and he grow incredibly close, its just taking longer cause Noibat isn't an empathic style Pokemon like Misdreavus.
> 
> Plus, this is a bechloe story, so the focus is their relationship ultimately with the Pokemon thrown in for fun!
> 
> I hope you'll stick around for the next chapter which will deal with the fallout, Chloe and her Eevee, Beca and her Nidoran, and also a little treat for myself in there too at the end. Let me know what you think of this chapter too. The feedback is sometimes the only thing that's getting me to spit that next chapter out. Love you guys, and see you soon!


	8. Ecruteak City (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beca tries to get through to Chloe and see what's really behind her reaction to her first big loss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!
> 
> It has been about a month since the last post and so much has happened. I dropped out of grad school upon realization that I didn't need it and I'd benefit more from working full time at my job to prepare for my career. I found YouTubers that I actually love and follow now, and might even be making my own channel if I can figure out how to film anything with my bad technology habits. And then a ton of other stuff I can't even begin to get into! 
> 
> One thing that I haven't been doing is writing :( I don't know why, but its just seemed like a chore whether it was this story, other stories, or my book. However, I forced myself to kind of sit down and write this and I actually got some of that fire back for sure! (Editing is another story) This is not my best work, but this is what I have for you until the next update. I hope you like!

Beca had always been a worrier. Usually it came in the form of the future and her anxiety regarding her place in it. However, with the way Chloe had been behaving for the last week and a half, Beca’s list of worries stopped at one. Chloe had been an absolute mess since her loss to Morty. It had completely taken away her confidence. She’d not been able to sleep or eat like normal, and she’d been training her and her Pokemon to death. 

The worst part of it all is that Beca had no idea how to help. She’d tried talking to Chloe, but she refused to admit that anything was wrong with her. She’d tried to force her into sleeping, but Chloe always managed to wiggle her way out of it and train until dawn. She’d even pleaded with Chloe to give her Pokemon a break, but Chloe didn’t listen. The worst part is that they hadn’t had a proper conversation the entire time. The girl that Chloe was now was completely unrecognizable to the girl that Beca was in love with.

Beca had decided that she’d try to make another stand tonight; to make Chloe see reason if she could. She’d even talked to Mismagius about using Hypnosis on Chloe to try to get her to just pause and rest, but she knew that she could never turn a Pokemon attack on her friend. The sun was setting, and she knew that Chloe would be heading to the practice field soon, after picking her Pokemon up from Nurse Joy. It was the only glimmer of hope that she had with Chloe. While she trained her Pokemon for hours on end with little rest and little downtime, and while she didn’t allow herself any rest either, she still gave them to Nurse Joy for healing in the morning and didn’t retrieve them until they were cleared. So, while her Pokemon were exhausted, they were still healthy.

It wasn’t long before the doors opened and Chloe stepped out. Her hair was flat and her face was almost expressionless. She looked like a shell of what she had been for the entirety of the time that Beca had known her. There was no smile, or happy bounce in her step. It was a shell shocking sight, and one that Beca knew that she had to change, no matter what it took.

Beca stepped out from where she had been standing. She took a deep breath, readying her intervention speech. “Absolutely not.”

Chloe’s eyes moved up listlessly and locked eyes with Beca. There was absolutely nothing there. It was just exhaustion and sadness. The dark bags under her eyes seemed to be too heavy for her neck to carry, and her shoulders bunched up. “Move, Beca. I need to train.”

“You need sleep.” That was meant with silence. “I’m not kidding, Chloe. I thought this would work itself out in a couple days, but this has gotten ridiculous.” Still nothing. “Your Pokemon are exhausted, and you look like you’re about to keel over, and you won’t be beating anyone if that happens.” Chloe flinched and Beca winced internally at how harsh she was sounding. She tried to soften her voice, so as not to sound accusing. “You’ve lost before, and I’ve never seen you look like this, so I just need to know what the deal is. Is it because it’s a Gym Leader?” 

For the first time, Beca noticed that Chloe held a Pokeball in her hand. The reason that it caught her attention was because it was shaking. Whether it was due to anger or sadness, Beca had no idea. Chloe’s head had dipped lower and lower as Beca had talked, and now she was looking down at her shoes, her hair hiding her expression. 

After a few moments of silence, Beca took a tentative step forward. “Chloe?”

It was like speaking again sparked a wildfire, as Chloe through down her belt, tears leaking from her eyes, down her cheeks. The belt hit the ground with a clatter, the four other Pokeballs, containing her other Pokemon, were attached to it and hit the ground roughly, as Chloe tore out of the practice field, shoving Beca aside as she let out a sad hiccup through her tears. Chloe soon disappeared outside of the gate and down the streets of Ecruteak before Beca could process what had happened. Her eyes were locked on Chloe’s trainer belt, the one thing she never left behind, even when going to the bathroom at night in her pajamas. She’d somehow caused the love of her life to run off crying, leaving behind most of her Pokemon that meant everything to her. She’s an absolute asshole.

 

Beca didn’t know what to do. She had assumed that Chloe would come back in an hour or so, and then Beca would apologize and they’d have a highly uncomfortable talk and would hug it out (also uncomfortably). But as the sun sank and the moon rose into the sky above Ecruteak City, Chloe was nowhere to be found, and Beca was worried. She’d taken Chloe’s belt and her Pokeballs and attached it to herself like a comfort blanket, clipping it around her torso like a bandolier. She knew that whenever Chloe did come around she’d have to come back for her Pokemon, and Beca would be waiting to hopefully make it all right.

Her quick deduction skills (i.e. her boredom at waiting for Chloe to come back) had told her that the Pokeball Chloe had taken was her Eevee. Beca felt better knowing that Chloe had a Pokemon to defend her from any trouble that might come her way, but that didn’t negate her overall worry about the state of her friend. So with her and Chloe’s Pokemon coming along for the ride, she set off in the direction that Chloe went hoping to track her down.

It became apparent rather quickly, that Beca’s thought process was all wrong. She was trying to think like Chloe, which led her to several shops that were already closing down. None of the owners had seen Chloe come by, which meant that Chloe wasn’t thinking like her usual self. Beca sent Mismagius and Noibat out of their Pokeballs, hoping that one of them could locate where Chloe might be. 

Noibat could listen for her voice, while Mismagius could put its empathic powers to work and try to find the distressed aura of someone it knew well. They both flew off to try to locate her, and Beca kept looking throughout town to see if she might be sulking in a diner, or dead in an alley. Don’t blame her; she’s a pessimist and a worrier. Several distressing hours went by, well passed midnight, when Noibat finally found her again. He gestured with his wing towards the outskirts of town, near the forest that would lead back to Goldenrod City. 

Beca followed his directions, running into Mismagius along the way. Noibat led them into the woods themselves and he made sure that she didn’t trip on a tree root or smash her head into a wayward branch. They trekked for a couple of hours, adrenaline pounding non stop in Beca’s veins as she kept a lookout for any sight of that beautiful shade of red. However, it wasn’t the sight of her hair that grabbed Beca’s attention first, but the quiet sniffles coming from around a large tree.

She went to move forward, but Mismagius floated down in front of her and shook her head. Beca stopped, curious as to why her Pokemon would stop her from going to comfort her friend that had been missing for most of the night. Then, Chloe started to speak. 

“I feel so awful, Eevee. I just… how could I lose like that, and then how could I have those thoughts towards her. She didn’t do anything wrong, but I’m still…” There was a slight hiccup in her sob before she spoke again. “I’m such a bad friend.”

There was a slight cry from Eevee as it tried to calm Chloe down and console her. Beca frowned. What did she have to do with Chloe’s loss to Morty? Why would Chloe feel like a bad friend?

“Its not your fault Eevee. I just got lazy, and now I’m just some hateful person who falls apart when something like this happens.” She paused. “And I can’t tell Beca, or she’ll hate me. I don’t want her to hate me. That’s the exact opposite of what I’m hoping for.”

Beca felt like an eavesdropper, and knew that the longer she didn’t reveal herself to Chloe, the worse it would be. Mismagius had moved out of her way, so she took that as a sign to step forward. “Beca could never hate you.” Chloe’s eyes snapped up, and Beca had to stop herself from gasping at how beautiful they were, even with tear tracks running down from them. “But, she is worried. And she does want to help.”

“Beca!” Chloe gulps and looks up at her, quickly trying to wipe off the evidence of her crying. “How long were you listening?”

“Not long. Honest. I came out looking for you when you didn’t come back after nightfall. I was so worried.” Beca moved and sat down, leaving a respectable distance between them. “I did hear the last few parts though. I could never hate you, so you need to get this off of your chest.”

Chloe sniffed and looked at her. Beca didn’t give in to her natural reaction to look away, but held her gaze as long as she could. Chloe finally nodded and sat up straight, clearing her throat. Eevee tucked itself into her lap and snuggled down. 

“I felt like a failure because you could beat Morty when I couldn’t. You didn’t even want to train Pokemon but you were somehow better than me. It made me… I didn’t like you in that moment and it made me feel like such a horrible person because you’ve been so supportive and amazing since we’ve known each other.” Chloe pushed the heels of her hands into her eyes and shook her head. “Oh god you hate me, don’t you? I’m so ungrateful.”

Beca didn’t feel anything really. It was all such a shock that she didn’t do anything more than stare blankly ahead as she processed it. However, when Chloe started insulting herself, Beca snapped out of it. “You aren’t.” Chloe looked back up at her. “You show me in a million little ways every single day how much I mean to you, and you have no idea how much all of those mean to me… even if I don’t always show it.” Beca tapped her fingers nervously, as she did when she was uncomfortable. “The only reason I’m any good at all with Pokemon is because you’ve taught me. I won because of trickery and desperation. Plus, we were having two different kinds of battles. Mine was to see if Misdreavus and I were ready to evolve, and yours was a Gym Battle.” She gulped; hoping her mention of the loss didn’t send Chloe spiraling. “I hope I’m making sense.”

Chloe took a while to answer. “You are.” She scooted closer to Beca. “I’m sorry for being such a bad friend these last few days. I just didn’t know how to talk about what I was feeling.”

“You never have to hide anything from me. I’m always gonna be here for you. I want to know it all, even the ugly parts.”

Chloe gave her a smile and leaned her head against Beca’s shoulder. “Same for you. I don’t want to hide things anymore.”

Beca felt her heart jolt. If Chloe knew everything that would mean that she would know Beca’s feelings. She bit her lip, debating with herself. The sincerity with which Chloe had spoken about her feelings, how honest she’d been… she deserved the same from Beca. “Chloe, I… I need to tell you something then.”

Chloe looked up at her and tilted her head. The morning sun was just starting to come up and shine through the trees. It made her look so beautiful that Beca was sure that this was the right time to say what she had to say. “I…” Something brown caught her attention and her eyes flicked to Chloe’s Eevee. It wasn’t sleeping any longer and was staring at the morning sun with determination. “What’s Eevee doing?” 

Chloe hummed and turned her eyes to her Pokemon with a furrowed brow. “I have no idea.” She shook her head and turned back to Beca. “You were saying?”

“Right, uh, Chloe…” Beca took a deep breath, when a bright light made her squint and shield her eyes with her hands. The white light of evolution had overtaken Chloe’s Eevee with the early rays of sunshine. Beca watched astounded, as Eevee’s tail grew longer and split into two ends. Its ears flattened a bit and grew tuffs of hair around them, as it grew longer and more slender. 

The light of evolution disappeared and the purple Pokemon that stood where Eevee had let out a happy cry as it soaked in the early sun. It had a red dot on its forehead, gleaming with power, and wide intelligent eyes that seemed to stare through whatever was in front of it. Espeon turned and looked at Chloe before jumping onto her lap again and nuzzling her. 

Chloe was so excited that she squealed and hugged Espeon to her chest happily before bolting upright in surprise. “Whoa… is this what you feel with Mismagius’ empathy? Like something is brushing against your mind?”

Beca chuckled. “Yeah, you get used to it. Cool, right?”

Chloe nodded happily, petting Espeon and praising it for its evolution. Beca even reached forward to pet the Eeveelution and congratulate it. They sat there for a while, just basking in the weightlessness of the absent tension before Chloe looked over again. “Sorry, that was kind of bad timing. You were saying?”

Beca’s heart flipped again and she completely blanked on anything that she might want to say. “I was just wanting to say that if you evolved your Eevee then you could beat Morty no problem.”

Chloe frowned like she didn’t believe her, and it made Beca panic even more. “You sure that was it, Becs?”

“Totally. That’s it. Just trying to be helpful.”

Chloe looked oddly disappointed. “Well, I’m glad that everything worked out then, and I do feel better after having told you. Thanks for being there for me.”

Beca gave her the best smile she could manage and tried to pretend that her voice didn’t break when she began talking again. “Anytime.”

“Come on, let’s go back and catch up on some sleep. I think we both need it.” Chloe stood up and offered Beca her hand. Beca took it shakily and followed her. 

As Beca laid in bed that night, with Chloe snoring away in a deep sleep in the bed next to her, her mind didn’t let her rest as it replayed what she almost revealed to Chloe just a few hours ago, and she knew that she’d be replaying it over and over again until she finally said something… for better or worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! So Chloe has an Espeon and Beca almost revealed her feelings for Chloe before being interrupted. I don't think you'll have to wait too much longer for the big reveal chapter, but this was just a fun little tease for when that happens. 
> 
> So the next chapter I think is gonna be an uber long one. It will find the girls going through Olivine and Cianwood as well as traveling to the Whirl Islands after battling Chuck! Things will happen that include evolution, a new capture or two, maybe a fight and a couple revelations ;)
> 
> Can't wait to see you guys there!


	9. Whirl Islands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We catch up with the girls and what's happened since their talk. Including developments on their way to Olivine City, and some drama on the open seas near the Whirl Islands!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back to Bechloe/Pokemon goodness!
> 
> So, I have to admit I'm not totally happy with how this chapter came out, but I think its good enough to share and hopefully you guys will enjoy what I've done!
> 
> Make sure you give it a good read and then drop some kudos or a comment. I love discussing Pokemon more than almost anything, so I'm down for that in the comments too! I've been replaying all of my game to have them all finished before I get Let's Go Eevee lol I'm currently playing through Firered and then after that it'll be either Emerald or Crystal, probably Crystal.
> 
> Anyway, here we gooooooo!

Beca was a pessimist, but even she had to admit that when life was going well, the days looked brighter. Ever since Chloe had her loss of confidence and their subsequent talking through of some of her feelings, things had never been better. She’d gone back and took on Morty again, to defeat him in short order with Espeon. He praised her, and handed her the Gym Badge that had caused her so much doubt. Beca had pride swelling in her chest almost uncomfortably at that sight, and the big embrace with which Chloe gave both her and Espeon. 

The good times had kept on rolling, as Beca got a call from Goldenrod that told her she was doing an excellent job with her radio show, and that they actually had a band looking for a fresh sound that had asked about her. When she heard who it was, she was incredibly excited, but she wasn’t allowed to say anything yet, even to Chloe. Though, Chloe had been upset that she couldn’t know, she understood and had been happy for Beca. She would be the first to know when the time came so it didn’t really matter in the end. 

Not only was her career beginning to take off, but also Chloe’s hardcore training during her slight depression had paid off a bit. It hadn’t been long after they started moving towards Olivine City that Nidoran evolved into Nidorina. It had been quite a shock when they had been sitting to eat lunch, Beca’s Nidoran lounging and gorging himself on some of the human food that Beca had slipped him, and Chloe’s Nidoran had begun to glow white while training with its Horn Attack on a tree nearby. What followed had been strange. She’s not sure that Chloe noticed, too proud of her Pokemon to notice anything around her, but Beca’s Nidoran had actually looked shell shocked, possibly even upset. Beca knew that both the Nidoran were in love, but their personalities seemed to clash a bit. Chloe’s was almost warlike in the way she carried herself. Beca’s Nidoran was incredibly lazy, though he would train, he would then sit and sleep for a long time and gorge himself on food almost constantly. Beca didn’t want to assume too much, but she got that feeling that her little guy was feeling lesser than his love, and hopefully that might even out his more gluttonous tendencies. Beca made a mental note to keep an eye on him in the future.

Then two things happened almost simultaneously for them en route to Olivine City. They had stopped at this rather picturesque farm on the way. It seemed to specialize in dairy products and had a lot of happy Miltank around and grazing. They’d signed up for a tour around the facility to see how MooMoo Milk was made, as they’d both grown up on the stuff. The tour had been stopped short when the lights and the machines running the milk through whatever purification process they needed stopped and went out. It had annoyed the owners and they said that they’d been dealing with this issue for a few months at this point.

Very near to the farm was a spot that had a lot of electromagnetic energy and it tended to attract Electric type Pokemon to it, and that often led to Magnemite or the like coming to feed off of their own electricity. Lately, however, they’d been having an issue with an Elekid. They seemed to think that it was training itself against other Pokemon in the area, including some of the Miltank, and expending so much electricity that it needed to feed off of theirs. This was strange because according to the Pokedex, Elekid spun their arms around to generate electricity. That had to mean it was expending so much energy, or practicing attacks that were much too dangerous for an unevolved Pokemon.

Beca had been intrigued. For all of her life, while Pokemon had never been her top priority, Electric type Pokemon did always catch her interest more than others. Maybe it was the fact, that some of them could help the electronic side of her passion for music, or maybe it was just a natural appeal of their general look. She wasn’t sure, but knowing that there was an Elekid out there that was causing issues, she wanted to see if maybe she could catch it, or at least reason with it and get it to stop.

Chloe agreed that they’d help the farmers, and it didn’t take long to find the Electric Pokemon as it literally jumped out of a bush to attack them. Maybe attack was too strong of a word. It had surprised them and gestured at their Pokeballs on their belts, whirling its arms around and sparking. It looked like it was simply hoping for a battle to train itself up, while not actually posing a threat to anyone. That was good news, as an overly aggressive Pokemon tended to completely throw off the ecosystem in which it was trapped if left alone too long. Chloe had made to take up Elekid on its challenge, but Beca had grabbed her arm, sensing that pull that she now associated with the desire to capture and befriend a Pokemon.

Chloe had immediately understood and stepped back. Beca made no move to her Pokeballs yet. She cleared her throat. “Elekid.” It looked up at her, tilting its head to the side, obviously confused as to why the battle had not started yet. “I need you to understand something. I’m going to battle you, and if I win, I’m going to throw a Pokeball and try to capture you. If that’s not what you want, then I would walk away and leave this farm alone and find a new place to train.”

Elekid had looked contemplative before whirling its arms and throwing a small Thundershock right at Beca’s feet. Beca had been expecting a similar response and so she did not move or even flinch, which seemed to gain a bit of respect from the small Pokemon. She thought about whom to call out to fight and remembered the change of Nidoran’s mood the last few days. And she chose his Pokeball and sent him out against the Pokemon. She crouched down and looked in Nidoran’s eyes and whispered words of encouragement to him, before standing back and calling the first attack.

It was a tough match. Elekid had obviously been training itself against some strong Pokemon because it would absolutely not stay down. Horn Attacks and Double Kicks, and even Nidoran pushing itself to dodge and tire the Electric Pokemon out, took a long time before Elekid finally staggered back and propped itself up against a tree. It still wasn’t knocked out, but Beca knew that it couldn’t fight any longer. Nidoran was also pretty beat up, and Beca didn’t want to make the two fight any longer, fearing any permanent damage. So she walked up to Elekid and sat down, placing her Pokeball between them and waited for Elekid to catch its breath.

“You train yourself so hard and take on Pokemon here in the wild, and interfere with farming equipment like you’ve been doing, you’re going to get yourself hurt or killed, and I don’t want to see that happen. You need someone to tell you when to stop and rest, and I want that to be me. But, the final decision is up to you.”

Elekid had looked at her before reaching forward and tapping the central button of the Pokeball, getting sucked in and captured. After she had thanked Nidoran and praised it for a job well done, she picked up the Pokeball and turned to Chloe who was giving her this look that set Beca’s insides on fire. It looked almost longing, and it was plain on her face for a split second before she enveloped Beca in a hug. She congratulated her and jumped for joy, while Beca remained firmly planted on the ground, but returning the hug, arms wrapped around her waist.

After stopping back in to the farm and telling the owners about Beca catching the Elekid, the farmers offered them a place to stay for the night, free of charge, for their good deeds. The girls took them up on this and decided to use their expansive grazing field to their benefit and get some training in. This led to Chloe’s Bayleef evolving into its final evolution, Meganium, with her now polished training methods. The flower around its neck was a vibrant and healthy color and it seemed to exude calmness, confidence, and power; everything you would expect from a fully evolved Pokemon that had been with its trainer from the start. They had celebrated by having a mock battle between Mismagius and Meganium that ended in a bit of a draw when they called a stop to the match before they exhausted their Pokemon. Beca’s Nidoran had been pushing himself pretty hard, only sending a bit of a longing glance at a nearby apple tree that he promptly ignored to continue his training. Chloe’s Nidorina seemed shocked, and maybe a bit impressed with him, which Beca noted with happiness.

The next day, they entered Olivine City. Chloe thought about going to the Olivine Gym right away, but it seemed that it was booked solid for quite a while, so they decided to head down to do some tourist like things while they waited. It had only taken two days before Chloe had gotten bored of waiting and bought them a pass that would take them to Cianwood City for a Gym battle, as well as take them through the Whirl Islands on the way. It was a great plan, and Beca was actually looking forward to the time with Chloe on a boat, and exploring the caves of the Whirl Islands when they stopped for a bit.

What Beca didn’t anticipate, was for everything to come to ahead while they were there. It happened as they were approaching the Whirl Islands, where the boat would stop and let people disembark to explore the caves and shallows for Pokemon and items. Beca and Chloe were at the back of the boat, where they could talk and stare back out at the wake that the boat was causing and maybe catch sight of some Water type Pokemon that frequented this route. They’d already spotted a couple Staryu and dozens of Tentacool. It wasn’t until they were turning to carefully slide into the shore of the first island that they caught sight of something rare. 

A small, heart shaped Pokemon leapt out of the water, making a large arc right in front of them, quickly followed by several others repeating the jump. Chloe had this huge smile on her face watching them and it warmed Beca’s heart. She knew about Chloe’s fondness for Luvdisc, and was surprised she hadn’t already thrown a Pokeball. But she was content to just stare at her friend’s happy expression and let it warm her heart. That was until a small, elderly lady that wasn’t standing too far off from them spoke.

“Oh Luvdisc!” She smiled down at them. “You know the story behind them don’t you?” When Beca turned in surprise, she must have looked like she didn’t know the lore behind Luvdisc because the lady continued without prompting. “They say that whenever Luvdisc appear by a couple it means that its true love and you’re destined for a life!” She gave them a heartwarming smile, though Beca’s heart was thumping hard in a panic. “You two are adorable, so I’m happy you’ve been given such a good omen!”

Beca couldn’t help the volume of her voice when she sputtered out. “We aren’t dating! Nope. Never have. That’d be… weird?” She winced as she finished the last sentence. It was a blatant lie, but the panic had swept through her so strongly. Ever since her and Chloe’s heart to heart in the forest surrounding Ecruteak City, she’d been on high alert, worrying about letting her secret slip, so firm denial was the only thing on her mind when the lady had assumed they were together. As she said it however, she knew it was the wrong thing because she felt the iciness from Chloe even before she turned around. The lady apologized, giving them a strange look, but Beca didn’t even register it because she was focused on the frown marring Chloe’s face and the droop in her shoulders. 

“Chloe…” 

The redhead turned as the boat came to a stop and walked towards the line of people without replying or even looking back at her. Beca sighed and followed along. She didn’t think it’d be weird to date Chloe, in fact, she thought it might be the best thing in existence, but that was because she has been desperately in love with her for years. Why would Chloe be so upset about it? She thought about this the whole time they were waiting to step foot onto the first Whirl Island, but couldn’t come up with any obvious answer. Maybe Chloe was upset about the lady assuming they were a couple? Yeah, that had to be it.

As soon as they broke off from the larger group to start exploring, she turned to Chloe. “Sorry for that lady back there. That had to have been weird for you too.”

Chloe frowned even further, and couldn’t even look at Beca. “I’m gonna go take a walk by myself and explore.” She turned away from Beca, leaving her speechless, and making her way towards a nearby cave. 

Beca didn’t know what to do. Chloe had asked her to leave her alone, and Beca was one to always follow directions when they came from Chloe, but there was something in her heart that was telling her to go and find her and talk it out. She told that something to shut the fuck up and she went to the edge of the sand and sat down, bringing her knees up to her chest. She watched Shellder and Magikarp and all kinds of ocean Pokemon jump and play in the water, but she couldn’t get any joy from it. What if this is what finally made Chloe run? What if this was it? What if they’d get to Cianwood and Chloe would politely ask her to take the boat back to Olivine and return to the job waiting for her in Goldenrod so that she could finish her journey on her own?

Beca didn’t know how long she sat there running through all the horrible scenarios that could result from this, but she snapped out of it when someone announced that they’d be heading out in a half hour. She looked around, but couldn’t see Chloe anywhere among the tourists. She waited five more minutes before she began to panic. Chloe could have slipped and fell down somewhere and hurt herself or something worse, so Beca finally stood up and headed towards the cave. It wasn’t that deep, and took no time to explore, but Chloe wasn’t there. 

Beca’s panic increased as she came out and wildly snapped her head around to where her best friend could have gone. She followed the cave outcropping around to the other side of the island and looked off into the waves, wondering if Chloe had been somehow swept out. She finally found what she thought to be Chloe sitting in the sand, not unlike how Beca had been moments ago, and speaking to a Pokemon that Beca didn’t notice until she got closer. It was a Seel, its light blue fur shone almost white, while its tongue stuck out despite its concerned look. It seemed to be almost consoling Chloe as it sat next to her.

Beca didn’t want to interrupt but it was a very real possibility that Chloe hadn’t heard the call that they were almost ready to board again so she took some steps closer to say something, but before she could open her mouth, she heard Chloe.

“I just… I thought she liked me and then she says all that. I don’t know what to think anymore…” Beca stopped dead in her tracks. There is no way that she just heard that correctly. “I’ve been having these feelings since the whole Nidoran thing I told you about a couple months ago, and I’m finally coming to terms with what it all means, and working up all this courage. It’s so hard to stop myself from blurting it out sometimes when she does something like what she did with her Elekid.” She groans and puts her face in her palms. It isn’t until she turns to the Seel and asks what she is supposed to do that she sees Beca standing there, and its not until then that Beca’s legs or mouth works again.

Chloe looked utterly panicked. “Beca! How much of that did you hear? I thought I told you to leave me alone!”

Beca took a step forward, eyes still wide. “You need to let me explain.”

“I heard quite enough from you already today!” Chloe was panicking; Beca could see it in her eyes.

“Chloe!”

That got her attention. Beca never raised her voice. She was a naturally quiet person, and when she was angry or in any situation where she might need to yell, she always did something else to showcase it. The loud interruption to Chloe’s bumbling speech halted her immediately, as she stared at Beca wide eyed.   
Beca took a deep breath. No more secrets. “What I said on the boat… I said it because I was worried that it might make you feel weird, and I never want to lose you in any capacity.”

Chloe looks up at her with a strange look, somewhere between relief and disappointment. “So it was a lie?”

Beca bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut tight. She just kept telling herself that there should be no more secrets until she could open her mouth and say it to Chloe’s face. When she did open her eyes, Chloe was standing not to far away from her, now at eye level again. “No, it wasn’t a lie.” She paused and took a deep breath, watching the hurt that she knew would wash over Chloe’s face appear and attempt to be masked while she got the rest of her words together. “I don’t like you. I think I’m well past that and have been for ages.” Beca took a shuddering breath in, feeling the confession truly rattle her bones to her very core. “I said that to that woman because I panicked about what you might do if you found out, and I almost said something in Ecruteak, but then I chickened out, and I’ve been keeping this in for years.” She gave herself a short, self-deprecating laugh. “I was so worried about what would happen if it slipped out, and I wasn’t thinking.”

She watched Chloe’s head snap up to look her in the eyes, unshed tears there waiting to fall. Beca panicked a bit at the sight of Chloe almost in tears. “No! No tears! I can’t handle that.” Chloe blubbered out a small laugh and wiped her eyes a little bit to dispel them. 

Once Chloe had herself more under control, she looked up to Beca again and bit her lip before speaking. “You more than like me?”

Beca gulped and nodded. “I never said anything because I didn’t think that there would ever be a chance… I never wanted you to leave.”

Chloe stepped forward and reached for Beca’s hand, lacing their fingers together. “I wouldn’t have… even if I didn’t feel how I do.”

Beca gave her a shy smile. “And that is?”

“That I really want to kiss that shyness off of you right now because I like you so much that I don’t know what to do with myself sometimes.” Chloe said this boldly and in a way that made desire pull low in Beca’s stomach, as well as she heart drop and bounce back up into her throat in one of the most pleasant feelings in her lifetime. “I always want to be near you, and to listen to you talk, and smile at me as often as possible.”

She could feel herself blushing but didn’t try to hide it. “I’d really like that.” She ducked her head a bit to hide the blush. “The kissing thing, that is… and everything that comes with it.”

Chloe leaned closer and Beca forgot how to breathe. She felt their noses brush and her eyes slammed shut as Chloe’s hands lightly grasped her hipbones. She felt her weight lean into Chloe’s touch and that was when their lips finally brushed each other’s for the first time. 

There weren’t any fireworks or anything as dramatic as that. It was simply a pleasant hum that started in her chest and soon buzzed out to every extremity. It was like something finally clicked into place, or that she’d been waiting to take a deep breath and finally allowed herself to. She felt both herself and Chloe sink into it with a pleased sigh and she knew that this was right where she should be. Their lips moved softly, taking their time to get used to this sensation that both of them had been waiting on.

Beca knew that there would be time for them to discuss the details of how long they’d been waiting for this, and when exactly feelings had developed, but right now, after some misunderstandings, and the wait itself, this was enough. 

They finally pulled back and rested their foreheads against one another’s; they just breathed each other in as big grins took over their faces. Chloe was the first to break the silence. “Wow.”

Beca just nodded in agreement. Then she frowned cause she felt something against her leg. She looked down and the Seel was still there looking up at them dopily, and what Beca thought might be encouragement. She paused. “Uh, hi?”

Chloe seemed to turn her attention down to the Sea Lion Pokemon and make a small exclamation. “Oh! I almost forgot.” She gave Beca a sheepish look. “I caught a Seel.”

Beca chuckled at how caught up in each other they had been for Chloe to forget that large of a detail, especially with how passionate she is about Pokemon. “Glad to know that I have that effect on you.”

Chloe bit her lip and smiled back shyly. “You have no idea.” She pulled a Pokeball out and returned the Seel. “I’ll tell you the story later, cause it involves a rather mean Dewgong, and me finding something really cool in the cave.”

Beca couldn’t help but smile at the way Chloe described it, like an adventure she had; most likely embellished for storytelling purposes. She could listen to Chloe talk about anything and it would be the best story ever. She was about to tell her that, when the horn of the boat sounded from the other side of the island and Beca remembered why she had come looking for Chloe in the first place. 

She grabbed Chloe’s hand and interlaced their fingers, which she was happy to note squeezed her hand back just as hard. “Come on! They’re gonna leave us if we don’t hurry!” She started to take off, but she got jerked back by the hand holding hers and into another kiss, this one hard and bruising and it took her breath away, but then Chloe was moving past her and giggling.

She winked at her, urging her to begin following her. “Don’t make us late, Beca.”

The glare she threw at her was probably the least effective one that she’d ever attempted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay our girls are together! Beca and Chloe both caught their last Pokemon for the Johto region, and Chloe's Nidoran and Bayleef both evolved, and there will be more training montage chapters and evolutions and a few more gym battles in this region before the girls will head home and think about where to go next! (I already know, but they don't :P) And there will be a good chapter I'm excited for when they do get home, and then off to another region! Also, I know Beca's career is kind of loosely defined right now, but the big news she got this chapter will be revealed soonish and I'll be using one of my favorite bands to show what she is doing.
> 
> I do need some feedback for you guys because after they go through the regions and stuff like that, I definitely know where I wanna put them and stuff, but I also need to know if you guys wanna continue to see them living their lives in the Pokemon world and training or catching new Pokemon? Should I take prompts maybe? I have all the Pokemon that they get planned out, but that's just for their initial journey through the regions and obviously they don't have to stop after that if you guys don't want it to. Please let me know in the comments!


	10. First Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beca has a bit of surprise for her first official date with Chloe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updating two times a month, my ass.
> 
> Sorry about the misleading information last time, gang. I really tried, but this chapter is long and it took a lot out of me to write and research.
> 
> I really hope you like it. Just for reference, there is about a week and a half to two week jump from last chapter to this chapter, and after this chapter we will be picking back up with the girls in Mahogany Town where Beca will learn an interesting thing about her dad.
> 
> But for now, enjoy this chapter!

Chloe was right, the story on how she came upon her Seel sounded like it wouldn’t be real, but knowing Chloe, she was telling the absolute truth. Apparently when she was in the cave she happened upon a peculiar stone, once shaped like a crown. When she couldn’t really see the details in the dark cave she had taken it out into the sun to admire it where she had seen a beautiful Dewgong laying on a rock. She admired it for a while, but then saw what was around it. There was a Seel who seemed to be struggling, even in the shallows to stay afloat, needing to rest on a rock. When it approached one of the smaller rocks surrounding the Dewgong’s, it became angry and slapped it off with its tail. The worst part of it all was that the Dewgong seemed to be enjoying torturing the smaller Pokemon. 

Chloe had stowed away the King’s Rock and taken out Poliwhirl’s Pokeball, having it swim out to the Seel and help it back to shore. When it got there, it seemed tired and upset. Chloe simply sat down and talked to it a bit, which seemed to have endeared it to herself because, when she tried to leave to go back to the boat, it didn’t want her to, and it seemed like it wanted to come with her, so she’d quickly offered and caught the Pokemon. Then they’d chatted a bit more, which was where Beca came in and the confession of love had happened.

Not much actually changed between them afterwards, except that everything that they both did when the other wasn’t looking, they now did anytime they wanted to. If Beca wanted to stare at Chloe’s stupidly beautiful face, then she could and Chloe would blush and smile at her for it. If Chloe wanted to take Beca’s hand and interlace their fingers then she could, though Beca would still blush and duck her head, a fact that Chloe had told her more than once was utterly adorable.

Cianwood City was a fun place to adjust to their relationship. It wasn’t a large island, and didn’t have a whole lot to do besides spend time with each other and train together. Their Pokemon took to their change in relationship with aplomb, though Beca could swear she would get protective glares from Chloe’s Nidorina at certain points. Chloe took on the Gym relatively soon after arriving on the island. She didn’t train a whole lot, considering she was extremely confident in her Espeon to handle any kind of Fighting types that Chuck could possibly throw at her. She ended up not being too far off. Chuck’s Pokemon were no match for Espeon, though his Poliwrath was incredibly resilient, and had almost pulled off the upset, but Espeon’s Psybeam was not to be trifled with.

After this, they decided to spend a week or so on the island exploring and seeing if there were any Pokemon that they wanted or things that they wanted to check out, though with both of them now having full teams of six, they weren’t sure that it would be smart to go all out with catching any more Pokemon, unless they really felt like they had a connection with them, so mostly they trained and started to make some decisions with the help of their Pokemon.

Chuck’s Poliwrath had woken up Chloe in the aspect of realizing that she did not want her Poliwhirl to evolve into one. It, for some reason, didn’t sit well with her. She talked to Poliwrath about it, seeking to know its desires on it, and if it wanted to evolve. Poliwrath was a proud Pokemon, and one of Chloe’s most eager battlers, so Beca thought its more aggressive style, might contradict what Chloe wanted, but when presented with a choice between Poliwrath and Politoed, it elected to take Chloe’s King’s Rock and place it on its head by itself. The white light of evolution shone and its body elongated into a frog shape, an antennae like extension growing from the top of its head and curling around. There was a curly pattern on its yellow belly as well, while the skin had gone from dark blue to a light green. Its chubby pink cheeks flexed as it croaked. It seemed to flex with new power and Chloe grasped it in a tight hug that almost squeezed the life out of the Frog Pokemon.

Later that week, they both came to a decision when it came to the Nidorino/a. They both had Moon Stones in their possession, and both of their Nidorino/a were well trained, and since they were together, they thought it might be cruel to evolve them separately. Talking with both of them, they all agreed that it was time, and that was how Chloe and her both now had walking tanks on their teams. Beca’s Nidoking wasn’t as big as she thought it might be, but the thing was strong. Its tail could crush a car, and Beca made sure to respect its power. The funny thing was, that now Nidoking seemed to be eating more than it had as a Nidoran… slightly. Chloe’s Nidoqueen was a warrior through and through, and it seemed to lose some of the ruthless aggression and gain a sense of regality that held itself up like some sort of warrior queen. It had absolute confidence in how it handled itself and that commanded the other Pokemon’s respect, Beca’s respect, and Nidoking’s never-ending heart-eyes around its mate.

After that, it had just been training with their recently evolved Pokemon that had them busy. When it came time to take the boat back to Olivine City, they boarded with a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that neither had really experienced before. And when the boat docked, and they found out the Gym was available to book again, Chloe immediately went to put her name in and they only had to wait a few more days before Chloe would face Jasmine and her range of Steel types. Beca used this for what it was, an opportunity, and asked Chloe out on their first date. The response had been instantaneous. Chloe had jumped into Beca’s arms and smothered her with kiss after kiss. Beca figured that meant yes, and got to preparing a fun beach date.

She ran some ideas passed Noibat, whom was getting older and bigger. So much so that she felt his weight on her shoulder now, whenever he was out, he also seemed really enthused with her secret project, which she still couldn’t tell Chloe about. He’d been helping her with different bass lines throughout the project that she couldn’t wait to show off to the interested party, though nothing was really going to get done until she went into a studio. Luckily with her Goldenrod job she could get into any of their affiliated studios, and there just so happened to be one in Olivine City, so Beca was going to make it a point of emphasis to go in and workshop it with some instruments until she was satisfied that the project was finished well enough to turn it in.

That was going to have to wait until after this date, though, because she was incredibly nervous. It was a beach picnic so that didn’t require too much dressing up. Maybe some extra time on make up to look particularly good, but other than that, it would be a cute little thing that they could do while they were in a coastal town. However, it also lacked something that was distinctly Chloe. She needed something that would really make this date stand out for life with Chloe and that would make it memorable. She had brainstormed on it for days, but it wasn’t until the day before the date that it clicked. She knew what she wanted to do and it was going to be, hopefully, incredible.

 

She picked Chloe up just after eleven in the morning. She had given her prior warning to where they were going and what time, so Chloe opened their door as soon as she knocked. Chloe looked beautiful and Beca really meant to tell her, but she couldn’t get her mouth to work after it had dropped at the sight of her in a colorful summer dress. Chloe had seemed to catch her meaning though because she had giggled and kissed Beca’s cheek, making her blush. Beca had led her out, arm in arm, the picnic basket dangling from her unoccupied hand. Beca noted with satisfaction that Chloe had brought her Pokeballs, they were attached to the strap of the bag that she normally carried around, that would have been a mistake if she’d come without them, and Beca’s plan wouldn’t work.

Once they arrived at the spot that Beca had chosen, a relatively deserted part of the vast beach. She spread the blanket down on the ground and then paused, hoping that her plan would be well taken. “So, I don’t know about you Chlo, but breakfast wasn’t that long ago, and I’m not too hungry yet.”

Chloe’s brow furrowed. “I thought that we-“

Beca smiled at her and reached out for her hand. “I have another idea for the first part of our date. Do you trust me?”

The redhead smiled softly. “Of course.” Then she frowned again in confusion when Beca let go of her hand and jogged a bit away. 

“Battle me.”

Chloe’s frown deepened. “What?”

“Full six on six battle between girlfriends. No holding back.” Beca smirked at her. “Unless you’re scared to lose.”

She saw the competitive gleam begin to glimmer in her girlfriend’s eyes. “Oh you know me well.”

“Course, Beale. Why else do you think I managed to snag you?”

Chloe raised her eyes. “Snag me? I’m pretty sure I had to squeeze the information out of you over the course of several years.”

Beca flushed pink. One point for Chloe. “Are we gonna battle or what?”

Chloe let herself giggle and nodded. “Alright, shall ladies go first?” She pulled the Pokeball she wanted out and threw it forward, Ledian letting out a powerful cry as it appeared. It buzzed around quickly. 

Beca smirked; she figured that Chloe would start with one of her fastest Pokemon, so Beca had a response ready. “Eevee, let’s do this!” Her Eevee popped out, ready for battle. It seemed that the respect between them had grown in the last few months. Eevee was still standoffish, but it battled when Beca needed it too, and that was all Beca would ever ask. 

Chloe looked perplexed by her choice, but didn’t wait too much longer before calling out her first attack. “Ledian, Bug Buzz!”

Ledian began to vibrate the air around it and it began to move out and encompass the entire area of the battlefield. Beca waited until the Bug Buzz surrounded them, right before it would crash inward towards Eevee and then shouted her command. “Bite, Eevee!” Eevee launched itself aggressively at the Ledian, and she could tell Chloe was surprised. Not only for the timing, but because the move she had chosen was one that was a weak move to Chloe’s type. The attack struck Ledian and Bug Buzz crashed inward, but because of Eevee’s close proximity to Ledian, it largely missed it. The Bite did relatively little damage, but Beca followed up quickly. “Quick Attack!” Eevee landed back on its feet before launching itself in a white streak towards Ledian. It struck, even though Ledian tried to maneuver away but it couldn’t move quite fast enough.

Chloe seemed to be reeling that Beca’s Normal type was keeping up with her quickest Pokemon. She needed her speed back, and Beca could have predicted her next move from watching Chloe’s past battles. “Ledian, Agility!” Ledian seemed to glow and increase its speed. 

Beca smirked. “Gotcha! Eevee, Swift!” The stars that were launched tracked Ledian, even as it tried to dodge. They hit and exploded on contact, sending the poor Bug type backwards. Beca followed it up with a move that she and Eevee had been working on the last few weeks. “Last Resort!” Eevee began to glow white and then in one big leap, crashed into the falling Ledian with an all out attack that grew in power the more moves you used before it. Ledian crashed back in the ground at Chloe’s feet and didn’t move again. 

Beca smirked at her overly competitive girlfriend’s shock. “What’s the matter, Chlo? Not letting me win are you?”

Chloe growled with challenge and frustration, returning Ledian. “You want full power?” She threw a Pokeball, opening up into her Meganium. It cried out with its impressive power. Beca and Eevee weren’t daunted though. They could take whatever Chloe would throw at them. 

“Eevee, Quick Attach!”

“Absorb it, Meganium!” Meganium planted its feet in the ground and it took the attack easily, Eevee bouncing off. “Body Slam!” With Eevee right there in front of it, there was no where to go, the full body weight of the large herb Pokemon came down on Eevee. It cried out in pain, and tried to wiggle out from under it and escape, but there was none. “Now, Petal Blizzard!” 

Petals swirled around the battlefield and then a huge mass of them slammed into Eevee as it tried to put distance between it and the much larger Pokemon. Eevee skidded to a halt at Beca’s feet, eyes glazed over and not moving. Beca frowned. That was too quick to go towards her plan. She needed to do a bit more damage to Meganium before this happened… she’d just have to move forward.

She recalled Eevee and paused for only a second to breathe. She pulled the Dusk Ball out of her bag and threw it out, letting Noibat appear, flying in the air between them. “Let’s have our starters have a bit of a go, yeah?”

Chloe grinned in response, but didn’t want to give Beca a second’s respite. “Meganium, Sunny Day!” Meganium launched a ball of energy into the sky and the sun seemed to shine brighter all around them. Beca cursed, she knew what was coming next. 

She needed to bring Meganium down to her level. Weaken it so that the rest of her attacks wouldn’t take so long to finish it off. She could dodge the Solarbeams, but with them being able to shoot them off rapid fire now, that posed a serious problem. “Super Fang!” Noibat darted in, almost a blur of movement and bit down hard on Meganium’s leg, cutting its energy by almost half by the move. Meganium cried out in pain. 

Chloe reacted quickly. “Solarbeam!” 

“Dodge it with Agility!” Noibat darted around as Meganium tried to lock onto it with its Solarbeam, when it finally did release it; it missed Noibat by only a couple of feet. “Air Slash!” Razor sharp air blades swung quickly through the battlefield to strike at the Grass type, which cried out in pain.

“Meganium, Synthesis!”

Meganium started to collect the sunlight to heal itself, and Beca knew that she had time. “Razor Wind!” Noibat began to circle the air around itself as it prepared to launch the heavy attack at a Pokemon who would be refreshed but weak to it. “Release!”

Just as Meganium broke out of its healing, Noibat released the wind. It struck and wounded Grass type, and it tilted to the side like it might fall over, but righted itself, gritting its teeth with effort. “Solarbeam, again!”

Noibat had no chance to dodge and got a face full of the Grass attack. Luckily, it resisted it enough to not go down immediately, but Beca could still tell that a powerful attack like that had stung. “Air Cutter!” More razor sharp wind flew at Meganium and it was too tired to move, finally succumbing to its wounds and falling over, dazed.

Chloe looked resigned, as if she had expected the result, but had let herself hope beyond hope that Meganium would pull it out in the end. Beca didn’t tease her this time, as it seemed like things were beginning to really heat up and she wanted Chloe to feel like this was a fair battle between them, and that it was still part of their date, and she was just indulging her girlfriend’s love for Pokemon battles.

She waited for Chloe to send her next Pokemon out. She didn’t know what to expect at this point, as Chloe still had four options left, and Noibat was one of her more powerful team members. It only stood to reason that Chloe would shock her with the decision and threw Seel’s Pokeball out on the field.

Beca was stunned because Chloe was having her newest Pokemon go against one of Beca’s most well trained, and her first Pokemon on top of that. Beca didn’t understand where Chloe was coming from with this, but didn’t have to wait for long. “Seel, Aurora Beam!”

Beca was not a battler. Not where it counted. And it showed here. She had completely forgotten about Seel’s second type, being Ice, something that her Noibat was weak to both as a Flying type and as a Dragon type. She paid for it by watching Noibat get hit square in the chest and slide back defeated at her feet.

She apologized to her little Dragon type and recalled him to his Dusk Ball. She gave a playful glare over at Chloe who was still staring at her in that competitive way that turned Beca’s insides to mush. She’s glad that Chloe was so into her idea, and she decided to make sure that her over competitive girlfriend knew that they were still on a date. “Stop trying to distract me with that cute concentrated face over there, Beale.”

She saw her girlfriend smirk and blow a kiss across the field. Beca didn’t want to hold up their good time any longer and pulled Elekid’s Pokeball out and threw it onto the field. She saw Chloe tense, but set her jaw. She called out for another Aurora Beam, but Beca was better prepared this time and called out for Elekid to use Light Screen. Being a Water and Ice type, she figured that Chloe would have taught Seel a variety of special attacking moves to capitalize on that fact, and Light Screen would make sure that the damage of all those moves was severely affected. She heard Chloe muffle a curse and smirked.

“Elekid, Electro Ball.” Elekid was a speedy little thing, with a lot of guts and competition deep in its bones. It launched itself almost recklessly at Seel, the attack pooling in its fist before launching at the Water type. It hit true and before Chloe could call out a defensive move, using Elekid’s reckless charge, closing the distance, to her advantage, Beca called out, “Thunderpunch!”

It was over before Seal hit the ground. Thunderpunch, plus the impact of the Electro Ball would have taken out some of the strongest Water types. Unfortunately for Seel, it was one of Chloe’s newer Pokemon and not yet used to official Pokemon battles. Chloe sighed and returned her newest Pokemon to her. She pulled out another Pokemon and Beca knew who it was before the ball even opened. Chloe’s resident Ground type, Nidoqueen.

Beca had planned for this. She just hoped that her plan would be enough to take down one of Chloe’s toughest Pokemon. She knew that it had a chance, when she saw Chloe frown in confusion at Beca’s lack of a switch out. Electric attacks would do absolutely nothing to Nidoqueen and they both knew that, which meant that Chloe expected Beca to switch out to a better type match up. Beca knew her Elekid though, and he’d take it as a personal insult to be recalled from a battle when he had a worthy opponent to face, plus Elekid didn’t just have Electric moves, and she would make sure that Chloe would know that after today.

“Elekid, Quick Attack to get close!” Elekid zipped towards the Drill Pokemon, using its speed to get close. “Low Kick!”

Chloe was surprised if her incredulous “What!?” was anything to go by. Elekid dropped low and swung its foot out and hit the back of Nidoqueen’s knees, hitting in between its armored plates. Beca knew that the move would do a bit of damage. While Poison did tend to resist Fighting type moves, Low Kick did damage based on how heavy a Pokemon was, and that played to their favor. “Again!” Elekid darted over and hit the back of Nidoqueen’s other knee and sent it reeling, but Chloe was done being on the defensive.

“Nidoqueen, Superpower!” With speed that Beca didn’t know the bulkier Poison type had, it swung its tail and hit the baby Electric type square in the chest, launching it back towards Beca. It landed with a thud, trying to push itself up, but Chloe was done reeling and letting Beca have the advantage. “Earth Power!” 

Nidoqueen’s fist connected with the ground, sending a fissure through the sand as the earth shook. Elekid didn’t have a chance to move before it was punched into the air by a pillar of sand. When Elekid dropped back down to earth, it didn’t move and Beca recalled it with a sigh. The gutsy thing actually managed to damage the one type it was weak to. 

Chloe and Nidoqueen celebrated their small victory while Beca thought about what to do next. She could send Mismagius out now, but she really wanted to keep the Ghost type as her anchor and make sure that if Chloe got that far that she would have to take out Beca’s best Pokemon last. Sending out Nidoking would be cruel to him as well as Nidoqueen, so that left one Pokemon.

“Scyther!” She threw his Pokeball to the field and watched as the Mantis Pokemon stretched its scythes out and waited in a silent fighting stance. She knew her Scyther liked to think of fighting like an art, and she would make sure that this would satisfy them both. 

Chloe looked intrigued at the match up. Both Pokemon resisted each other, but Beca knew something that Chloe didn’t, and it would hopefully give her the edge to victory. “Scyther, Quick Attack!” She watched her Bug type become a blur and move quickly, hitting Nidoqueen in its center mass. The Drill Pokemon reeled back and almost fell. 

Chloe looked stun. “That shouldn’t have done that much…” She looked over to Beca, who was having a hard time hiding her smirk. It took Chloe a second, but she watched her girlfriend’s face melt to an understanding before tightening her hands into fists of nervousness. “Scyther has Technician, doesn’t he?” 

Beca simply smirked. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She did. Scyther had an ability called Technician where it boosted power of weaker moves because of how well Scyther could perform them. It effectively made everything in Scyther’s arsenal about two times more dangerous than they otherwise would be. “Vacuum Wave!”

She watched the blur that was her Scyther move in and out, hitting Nidoqueen, who seemed to be having trouble even launching another move. Beca simply sat back, watching Scyther go to work. She heard her girlfriend desperately call out for another Earth Power, but she watched with satisfaction as it was easily dodged. In her panic, Chloe had forgotten about Scyther’s Flying type duality. She watched her Scyther go back to hitting small moves, powered up by Technician.   
It wasn’t until she saw him slowing down that she realized that she had grown over confident. She frowned and then smacked herself on the forehead. How could she have forgotten about Nidoqueen’s own ability? The purple shade to Scyther’s skin didn’t look good. He must have gotten pricked by one of Nidoqueen’s Poison Points. 

She didn’t know how long Scyther had been poisoned, as he’d been moving too fast for even Beca’s eyes to track. Now that he was slowing down, the poison must have been working for a bit already. She needed to finish this fast, so with that she called out for Scyther to use its Wing Attack. The move, powered up by its ability, was finally enough to take down the warrior queen. Beca, however, also returned Scyther. She knew that Chloe would understand. The poison would have eventually knocked it out, but there was no use making him go through that kind of pain in a playful battle between girlfriends.

Now that the field was empty and they both had two Pokemon left, Beca was resolved to win. She threw Nidoking’s Pokeball onto the field at the same time that Chloe threw Politoed’s. This match up would be tough. Nidoking wasn’t completely used to its larger body yet, and while he hit hard, he wasn’t the quickest. Politoed was also strong against Nidoking’s typing, so Beca hoped that he could somehow pull through.

Beca didn’t see fit to sit around and wait for her girlfriend to use a move. “Nidoking, Horn Attack!” Nidoking lowered its head and charged straight ahead into Politoed, who did not look at all prepared to be met with such an offense, by something that was weak to it. The attack looked like it had inflicted a decent amount, even knocking Politoed off the ground.

Chloe used the new distance to prepare her attack. “Hyper Voice, and then Bubblebeam!” The angry voice of Politoed sounded and the wave struck Nidoking directly, making it stall itself. No matter how loud Beca had yelled, there was no way that she was overpowering the decibel of that move. Nidoking had no way of dodging the Bubblebeam that came next. Beca made a mental note to ask Chloe about Politoed and its music potential. Maybe she could borrow it to record some stuff.

Nidoking was heavily damaged by the Water type attack, and Beca knew that he couldn’t take another one, or he’d be done. She needed to find a way to use his overwhelming power against Politoed, but they had another huge distance to cover, and Beca wasn’t sure how to close it.

While she was figuring it out, Chloe called out her next attack. “Bounce!” Politoed readied itself and then sprung up so high that Beca couldn’t actually make it out against the sun in the sky. That’s when the idea popped into her head. She needed to end this battle soon, and it was time to swing for the fences. 

“Wait for it!” Nidoking righted itself and looked to the sky, waiting for Politoed to make its way down. Beca saw it soon enough. Politoed was coming in hot, right at Nidoking. It needed to be closer. She paused a few seconds longer for it to get as close as possible before she called out her attack. “Thrash!” Nidoking immediately went into a rage that had it swinging its tail, horn, and powerful arms every which way. Politoed connected on its attack, but it was met with a hard punch to the gut, pinging off the hard armor of Nidoking. The redirection of momentum sent it sprawling into the sand, rolling and kicking up a huge cloud. When it cleared, the dazed look in its eyes told Beca that it was done. She couldn’t believe that Nidoking had actually overcome the type difference, but she was incredibly proud of her Pokemon.

The best part of it was that Chloe looked completely shocked. Politoed was one of her strongest battlers, and to have it lose to a Pokemon that it should have beaten had really thrown Chloe for a loop. She knew Chloe’s last Pokemon and it didn’t bode well for Nidoking either, but she didn’t have another option, but to try.

Espeon was released from its Pokeball in relative silence. Espeon was a quiet, yet affectionate Pokemon. Chloe and Beca were concentrating too hard for there to be anymore playful banter. Nidoking saw a new Pokemon appear from a Pokeball and immediately ran towards Espeon to continue its thrashing, hoping to score another victory, but Chloe was ready for the continuous attack and simply called out, “Confusion.”

A blue glow came over Nidoking as it was picked off the ground as if it weighed nothing. A look of pain came over his face as the Psychic type move affected him. Then the Psychic type threw Nidoking all the way back to Beca’s feet where it couldn’t outlast another super effective attack and passed out. She returned him sadly. 

They were both down to their last Pokemon, so it all came down to this. Beca pulled out Mismagius’ Pokeball and threw it out onto the field. Her Ghost type appeared and had a stare down between Mismagius and Espeon. Beca didn’t know who would call out the first attack, but even thinking that long seemed to put her at a disadvantage as Chloe called out a quick command of Future Sight. Beca now knew she had to move quickly. Psychic type moves wouldn’t do much, so she chose to start with something else.

“Mystical Fire!” Blue fire gathered around Mismagius and then shot at Espeon who was still shooting off its Future Sight attack. The Fire type move hit hard and caused Espeon to cry out in pain. Beca tried to continue her advantage. “Shadow Ball!” She knew this move would hit hard on Espeon, and she just hoped it would be enough to put it away and end this battle. The Ghost type attack hurtled through the air quickly, but Espeon was able to dodge the attack with a twitch of its tail and a leap to the side. Beca frowned in concentration before ordering the attack again. She needed it to hit to put a big dent in Espeon’s energy. 

Espeon dodged again, this time turning its body to point towards Mismagius. Espeon then fired off a Swift without a command from Chloe. It couldn’t be dodged, but Beca knew that it wouldn’t affect Mismagius at all, but she was so thrown off by the choice of attack and the lack of a command from her girlfriend, that she didn’t remember to pay attention. When the cluster of stars dissipated she tried to locate Espeon again to no avail. 

“Where did it go?” Mismagius also seemed thrown off by the sudden disappearance. She could see Chloe smirking. It wasn’t until another Shadow Ball collided with Mismagius, that Beca knew that this had all been Chloe’s plan. The super effective attack made Mismagius wince and fall back on the field of battle a bit. She didn’t know if Espeon had somehow redirected her own Shadow Ball, or if it somehow knew the attack itself. If it did know the attack then this was the first that Beca was hearing about it. Another Shadow Ball connected out of nowhere and it sent Mismagius reeling again. Beca was too overloaded with information to even think of what to do, and it was then that she saw a small blur of pink. She located Espeon and called for Mismagius to use Power Gem. It turned to attack and hit the little fox Pokemon with the move, but then a shimmer from behind Mismagius caught Beca’s attention. It took her a moment to place it, but before she could call out to Mismagius, the future attack struck true and threw Mismagius forward into a silently called Shadow Ball. Mismagius was caught between a rock and a hard place and the barrage was too much. 

Beca was shocked as she recalled Mismagius to its Pokeball. She was sure she had that in the bag. Maybe that’s why she lost; she had gotten too overconfident about the last match up. Plus, Chloe had surprised her with teaching Espeon how to use Shadow Ball. She gave a grim smile over at Chloe, who was hugging Espeon tightly to her chest in an excited embrace, celebrating her win. Beca couldn’t help but chuckle when she didn’t even notice Beca had walked over to congratulate her.

When Chloe did finally notice her, there was a definite smirk on her face. Beca stopped her before she could say anything. “I know; you won. Congrats, Beale. Caught me totally off guard on that last exchange. You’re amazing, you know that?”

Chloe blushed under the praise a bit, but bit her lip and stepped into Beca’s personal space. She hugged her tight. “How did you know that I’d like this?”

“Battling is your passion, Chlo. I couldn’t take you on a date when I don’t address this big piece of what makes you, well, you… plus, I thought that if I won, then I could use that as an excuse for the fact that I went totally overboard on the food and the romantic gestures later.”

She felt Chloe giggle into her collarbone, before pulling back and kissing her. Beca leaned into it and hummed in pleasure. Chloe finally disengaged from her and murmured. “A reward for participation.” 

Beca let out a long-suffering sigh. “You aren’t going to let the fact that you won go, are you?” She didn’t mean anything by it, just needed to keep up the appearance.

Chloe winked at her, already dragging her back over to their picnic basket. “Not on your life, Mitchell.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That battle took everything from me lol Hope you liked it though.
> 
> If you have any comments, ideas, or questions let me know. And please leave a kudos. I need encouragement with this story always!
> 
> See you soon!
> 
> Enigma


	11. Mahogany Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beca and Chloe head to Mahogany Town and run into an issue with Pryce the Gym Leader who is deeply connected with Beca's past, even if Beca doesn't know it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone and Merry Crysis! I just took a trip yesterday, so I should be able to write again a bit before I'm back to working everyday, and trying to complete all my Fire Emblem games! This chapter has been planned since the very beginning and I knew what I wanted to use Pryce for!
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Beca had never been more scared of Chloe’s power in her entire life than when she’d taken on the Olivine City Gym Leader, Jasmine. She liked to use Steel type Pokemon and Chloe swept her with Nidoqueen, who pushed through all the heavy defenses and brutal attacks that Steel types could throw at her to crush her enemies under foot like a true warrior. The display had been incredibly frightening to watch, and if Beca was being honest, a bit of a turn on.

Jasmine had been a lovely person to them though, as she had spoken to them after the Gym match and when she found out they were dating she had perked up. She then proceeded to gush about how lovely of a couple they made and how it made her miss her own girlfriend, Gardenia in Sinnoh. They had gone to lunch after that and talked about life and expectations of Gym Leaders, as well as being gay in a Pokemon world. Jasmine was full of wisdom, having come up when she was looked down upon and giving Chloe many tips and tricks to avoid pitfalls as she continued to grow as a trainer. Beca could see how much Chloe admired Jasmine just from the look in her eyes and Beca couldn’t blame her.

It was eventually time to leave the coastal town and make their way back to Ecruteak City and then to Mahogany Town. The trip back to Ecruteak was anything but uneventful. Halfway through, they did something rather stupid in hindsight. They were almost to a clearing that they had used before to camp out in on their way to Olivine and decided that it couldn’t hurt too much, traveling at night. Oh how wrong they were. 

It wasn’t long before they felt like they were being watched from the forest. Chloe didn’t seem to mind it, saying it was probably just curious Pokemon, but Beca could feel a certain malevolence in whatever was staring at them. She sent out Eevee just in case, and she could not be more thankful that she did. The Dark Pulse attack came from their right and stopped them cold. It was a pack of Houndour, and they looked hungry. Eevee spent little time stepping in front of them in a defensive position. It was outnumbered though, there were five of the dog Pokemon facing it, but Eevee didn’t have a single fear. It even glanced back at Beca for a second, as if to check on her, before growling in frustration and letting the white glow of evolution take over.

Eevee seemed to lose most of its fluff as it changed. It seemed sleeker, and the changes weren’t evident until the white light broke and revealed Umbreon. It was a sleek black color with flashing golden rings around different parts of its body. One around its tail, one around each ear, one in the middle of its forehead, and one at the top of each of its legs. It growled at the Houndour, who for the first time seemed intimidated and thrown off balance. Then, surprising even Beca, it was Umbreon that launched itself at the pack. It tackled the pack leader and bit hard into its neck. 

Then it leapt back, looked back to Beca, and let a blue shine overtake its body and launched itself back at the pack leader, who was just recovering its balance. When the attack struck, the leader stayed down. She heard Chloe gasp. “That’s Return.” Beca knew about that move, but she didn’t know that her Pokemon was capable of it. It could only happen, and do damage, based on the bond between a trainer and their Pokemon. The thought that Eevee trusted and cared about her enough to use a move, and have it be that powerful, really warmed her heart like she didn’t know. She always hoped that her patience and acceptance of Eevee’s stand offish nature would come through, and it seems like it finally had.

The pack of Houndour, now cowed into submission with the domination of its pack leader, fled from them. Beca knew that her former Eevee wouldn’t want to be coddled, but she couldn’t help the giant grin on her face, the soft pat that she gave it on the head. “I knew you liked me.” The Umbreon simply grunted, like it hated to admit that fact, but that it was true. She immediately looked at her Pokedex app and read up on Umbreon. Apparently, they could spray out a toxic substance from their body that would sting at the eyes of opponents. She’d have to be careful of that.

That wasn’t the only thing that went Beca’s way on their trip to Mahogany Town. Not to be outdone, and always competitive, her Elekid also evolved into an Electabuzz. It happened during training. Elekid had seemed to get into a angry mood, as it seemed that Scyther, the day’s sparring partner, wasn’t taking him as seriously as he would like. The young Pokemon had started shouting and throwing wild punches that Scyther was easily able to dodge. This just infuriated the young Pokemon more to the point it cried out and evolved within seconds, surprising Scyther and actually landing one of its punches. After that, Beca didn’t have the heart to stop the practice battle, as her Scyther was now taking the younger Pokemon very seriously, and it would be good practice for both of them.

Upon arriving in Mahogany Town, they immediately set out for the Gym, and that would be where Chloe would earn herself her seventh badge from Pryce, the Gym Leader. However, that’s where they ran into a problem that neither of them ever expected in a million years.

Pryce received them graciously at first, offered them tea, and sat down to chat, as he liked to speak with new trainers and get to know their training style and personality. He said that it interested him, in his old age, to know that the world of Pokemon that he left would be better than what it was when he started. He seemed rather stern, but fair and kind. He quickly warmed to Chloe, who people could tell loved Pokemon battling from a hundred feet away.

However, he began to question Beca about her motivations, and that’s where everything seemed to decline. When he heard that Beca was not doing the Gym challenge, and was interested in music, but loved working with her Pokemon on it. He had told her how amazingly creative it was to use her partners for that, and that as long as she and her Pokemon both found joy in something, then he would never frown on that. Beca had felt relieved by this and began to speak on some of her past, it was rather easy, and as she’d been opening up to more people now due to Chloe’s good influence and the fact that she wasn’t lugging around this huge secret crush anymore. When she mentioned her father, and how battling was never something that she was allowed to watch, and how horrible her brother, Kenny, had been treated when he’d decided to become a Pokemon trainer, Pryce’s forehead had creased. After she was done, he quietly asked what her name was again. When Beca told him her full name, he had seen his eyes darken, and his mouth downturn into a frown.

He stood up and took their dishes before apologizing. “I didn’t know that you were John’s daughter.”

Beca frowned in confusion. “You know my dad?”

That just seemed to make Pryce angrier. “I do. Now, I’m going to ask you both to leave. There will be no Gym battle for you here.”

Beca frowned. “What? Why?”

Pryce simply wobbled on his cane and opened the door for them, saying nothing.

 

“What the hell was that all about?” Beca was muttering to herself more than anyone, but loud enough so that Chloe could here. “Why would knowing my dad make him react like that? Granted he is a bit of a dick.”

Chloe didn’t look like she knew either, if her shrug was anything to go by. “You could always talk to him and ask.”

Beca snorted. “Yeah, right.” She tilted her head. “But, Kenny did travel Johto, so he had to come up against this, right? Maybe we can call him in Kalos and see if he knows.”

Chloe didn’t look at all convinced, but nodded her head, willing to try.

It wasn’t until later that they were able to call, with the time difference in Kalos being what it was; they needed to wait for Kenny to actually be up and to respond. When the call connected on the video screen, Beca took mental stock of her brother. 

He looked like he had been eating okay, and didn’t seem to be hurt anywhere, and that was good enough to her. He grinned at her in that sly way that he always did. “Hey, Becs! How’s it hanging?”

She rolled her eyes. “Hey, how are you?”

“I asked first.”

“God you’re annoying.” He just raised an eyebrow and she blew out an annoyed huff. “I’m good. Noibat and I are catching some Pokemon, and I got some musical stuff in the works too.” She glanced back at Chloe, who was sitting a ways away checking through her Pokedex app. When she looked up and caught Beca staring she gave her a bright smile. “Also, um, me and Chloe are… together.”

Kenny let out a long groan and threw his head back. That was not the reaction Beca had been hoping for, and her heart seized in panic until he brought his head forward and said, way too loudly. “Fucking finally. I thought I was gonna have to ask her out for you.”

Beca felt a blush replace her panic and scoffed. “Shut up!” 

He just grinned, not at all fazed by her surliness. “Not gonna give me any details, little sister?”

Beca fought down her blush and shook her head. “Maybe another time, we actually need your help.”

His brow creased. “With what? I’m not exactly in a position to just come over.”

“No, I know that, but I need some info.” When Kenny nodded for her to go on, she filled him in on Pryce’s weird behavior. “You traveled Johto, and you got eight badges, so how did you convince him to fight you.”

“I never did.”

Beca frowned. “What?”

“Yeah, there are other less popular Gyms that you can go to, and I wasn’t about to sit there in Mahogany Town and argue with some geezer that has a personal vendetta against our dad and won’t do his job.” Kenny actually seemed upset. “So, I’m afraid that I don’t really know how to help you.”

“I’m not even the one battling! It’s Chloe! I feel like I screwed this up for her, and I don’t even know why!”

Kenny looked sympathetic. “Look, I know that it might be the literal last thing that you wanna do, but you could always try to call dad. He might let you know what the deal is.”

Beca groaned and thunked her head on the desk. She heard Kenny sigh a small laugh. “Listen, I really hope you can figure it out, but, I’ve actually got a, um, date that I have to go get ready for.”

Beca looked up and raised an eyebrow. “You don’t date.”

Kenny looked the tiniest bit offended. “Hey! I can date!”

Beca stayed silent for a moment. “Do I get to know their name?”

Kenny looked behind him, as if to see if anyone is listening. “His name is Seibold. He’s one of the Elite Four here.”

Beca raised her eyebrow. “Whoa there, big brother, shooting for the top are we?”

Kenny blushed and mumbled his goodbye before cutting off the video call. Beca stood and sighed, as Chloe was right by her side when she turned around. “Did he say anything?”

“Nothing to help with our situation, though he apparently has a thing for pretty boy Water type trainers.”

Chloe raised her eyebrow at that, but they could discuss that drama later. “So what are we gonna do?”

Beca rubbed her eyes tiredly. “We’re going to train, eat, and then when tomorrow comes, I’m gonna call my dad.”

 

Her dad wasn’t any better help. He had answered, not looking overly pleased to talk to Beca in the first place, but he had clammed right up when she asked about Pryce. He wouldn’t look her in the eye, and when Beca had pressed him for an answer he had made up an excuse and hung up on her. Beca had frustratingly told Chloe the development and seen her usually bright and bubbly girlfriend sink into sadness at the thought of not getting her shot at the Gym Leader.

That look would have moved armies because it was that night that Beca found herself at Pryce’s door again, resolved to get an answer out of him and to make him battle Chloe. She wouldn’t be moved, but the cold glare he threw at her when he opened the door almost sent her running.

“Alright, you are going to tell me why you have an issue with me, and then we are going to an agreement so that you battle Chloe for the Gym badge, and I’m not leaving until we do.”

Pryce glared at hole through her before stepping back and allowing her into his home. It was a well-decorated place, and Beca could see several Swinub and Piloswine lounging in his sitting room, but Pryce used his cane to limp and lead them to the kitchen. “Alright, say your peace, Ms. Mitchell.”

“What is your deal? Why do you hate my family? And even if you hate me, why won’t you battle my girlfriend for her badge?”

Pryce raised an eyebrow and paused. “Girlfriend?”

Beca stood straighter, jaw clenching. “Is that a problem?”

Pryce seemed lost in his own thoughts, before bursting out and laughing so hard that he was leaning almost completely on his cane. Beca couldn’t tell whether she should be relieved or offended. When Pryce finally caught his breath, he had a much kinder smile on his face. “Oh, I haven’t laughed that hard in ages.” He then allowed himself to look at Beca and sigh. “I suppose I do owe you an apology and an explanation.”

“That would be nice.” Beca said, trying to keep the snark out of her voice. Pryce moved around and got some tea going and while he was letting that heat up he began. “So, how much of your father’s younger years do you know about?”

“Not much. I know he was always into science, and that he married my mom somewhat later than most people marry. He and I don’t get along very well, and he doesn’t get along with my brother either, ever since my mom died.”

Pryce hummed. “Well, I don’t know if it’s my place to tell you, but considering what I know of him he wouldn’t have told you himself.”

“He didn’t. He got all awkward and hung up.”

“Sounds like him.” He let out a big sigh. “Long ago, when I was still a just a trainer and your father was just beginning to do his own research, we met and fell in love.”

Beca felt the wind get knocked out of her. “What?” There was no way; her dad had not taken it well when she came out to him.

Pryce nodded handing her a cup of tea. “We dated for a couple years, but he was always so scared of someone finding out, it wasn’t as accepted as it is now, and he was afraid to be a casualty in the changing times.” Pryce got a little misty eyed. “We fit together rather well, my love for Pokemon and battling and his love for Pokemon and science… we made a good pair. But, when it finally came time to settle down, I was being looked at for Gym Leader of Mahogany Town, and I asked him to live with me and settle in this little town with a happy life, he said he couldn’t. Said that people would know about us, especially if I was becoming a town celebrity. When I told him that I was going to get the job, he said that he couldn’t stay and that we couldn’t be together anymore.”

Pryce took a shaky breath, like this still affected him all these years later. “I said that he just needed to think about it and that I would never make him come out, but I couldn’t live in the shadows myself anymore. When I woke up the next morning he had taken his belongings and left. His self hatred and internalized homophobia was just too strong.”

Beca could feel a new kind of disappointment in her dad. It wasn’t the fact that he was scared. She could understand that, but doing this to Pryce was still rather low and the fact that his opinion on things had not grown and in fact gotten worse when she had come out to him. She never saw his reaction to Kenny’s bisexuality, but she could assume it wasn’t positive.

“I threw myself into being a great Gym Leader to deal with the loss, and I got word that he met a woman and got married and settled down in another region. I came out and it went rather well, and I got to watch the times change and LGBT people become more accepted in the different Pokemon fields, it has been very rewarding to be a mentor to some of them.” He then grew a bit somber. “But, I am not perfect, so when I met your brother, and then again with you, I let old emotions bubble up, so I am sorry, Beca.”

Beca nodded. “I appreciate that, I had no idea that my dad was… bisexual I guess?” She shook her head. “He didn’t take me or my brother coming out very well. Our choice to take Pokemon journeys less so.”

“Your father and I had Pokemon in common, so it doesn’t surprise me that he would try to distance himself from anything from that period of his life. His self-hatred was… it was always a problem for us. I’m just sorry that it’s affected you and your brother as well, and I didn’t help by holding this ridiculous grudge.”

“No, I think I get it.” She slumped against his counter and sipped her tea. “Wow, I just… this is a lot to process.”

“Safe to say that I reacted poorly in not giving your lovely girlfriend her chance for a badge. Have her come here tomorrow, and she will be my first battle of the day.”

“I appreciate that, Pryce. Though, if you really want to make it up to me, do you think you could teach her a thing or two? She stresses a lot when it comes to making sure that her Pokemon are all in top form, and she just got a Seel a week or two ago, and she would love to learn more about how to train one properly from someone who specializes in Ice types.”

“I’d be happy to! You’ll have to stay for tea after the battle then. And if you’d like we can talk about being gay in a Pokemon world too. Maybe you can avoid some of the same pitfalls I fell into.”

“I think that we would both really like that.” She handed him her empty cup of tea and he took it, shuffling over to his sink and washing it out. He then proceeded to walk her back to the door. 

“I’ll make sure I’m at my best tomorrow, so please tell your girlfriend to be ready for a true battle.”

“I will. Thanks for talking to me. This was… nice. You’re not too bad of a guy.”

He chuckled, “I try not to be, but I’m nowhere near perfect, as you’ve seen. I’m just glad that you could forgive me.”

Beca just gave him a small smile and turned towards the Pokemon Center where Chloe was probably staying up worrying about her. And as if Chloe was out to prove her right, as soon as the door to their room was opened, Chloe was in her arms. 

“Beca! Are you okay? Was he mean to you? Do I need to go yell at him?”

Beca couldn’t help but chuckle and press her lips to Chloe’s to stop the ramble. “Get ready. You battle Pryce first thing in the morning.”

Chloe gasped and hugged her tighter, pressing kisses all over Beca’s face. She finally pulled back and gave her that big toothy grin that Beca would never get used to. “How did you manage that?”

Beca blew out a big breath. “That is a long story.” Chloe simply smiled at her and dragged her to their bed and sat her down on it.

“Do tell. And don’t think I forgot about what you said about your brother and pretty boy Water trainers. We have a lot to gossip about.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've always been for sure clued in on which of the Gym Leaders and Elite Four were LGBT and these are my head cannons that I'd love to discuss in the comments. 
> 
> We also had two evolutions for Beca's team this chapter, and we've got twp chapters left of the Johto arc before we head to a new region!
> 
> I hope you guys are as excited as I am!


	12. Blackthorn City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe's final Gym Battle and Bea's finale on her secret project!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2nd to last chapter of the Johto arc, one more to go before we head to the next region! That will be revealed next chapter!
> 
> I hope you enjoy this one though! I enjoyed writing it, though it came out a bit shorter than I expected but I still really like it.

After Chloe’s battle with Pryce, Beca actually began to notice something totally different about her girlfriend. There was always this overzealous happiness that seemed to follow Chloe around from when they were little. It was part of what helped break down Beca’s initial walls when Chloe had first thrust friendship on her. The happiness didn’t tone down, it was still very much present, maybe even more so now that Chloe was allowed to touch Beca the way that they had both wanted for so long, but there was something added to it. A sort of confidence, that came from a months long journey with Pokemon. It was the confidence of an experienced and veteran trainer. Chloe’s walk changed, as they would make their way through woods or caves, there was very little fear of the unknown, and if it didn’t make Beca secretly swoon a bit. 

Pryce had been a tough opponent, Chloe’s team not optimized to handle Ice types in the slightest. Most of her team was weak to that typing, but Espeon and Politoed really came through for their trainer with a hard fought win over Pryce’s Delibird and Piloswine. After the battle, Pryce had also apologized to Chloe for his behavior from before, made them tea, and then proceeded to gush over how much he admired Chloe’s Pokemon and how well taken care of they were. Chloe had taken this with glee, always excited to talk about her Pokemon. When it came time to talk about her Seel, Chloe listened with rapt attention as Pryce went on about feeding, training, moves to focus on. Beca tuned out for most of it, not that she didn’t care, but she just wasn’t as into this kind of stuff as her girlfriend. She did hear something about Chloe’s Seel being pretty big, which could mean it was on the cusp of evolution.

This didn’t make it a surprise a week later as they were traversing the Icy Path when Seel had battled a Golbat that had seen fit to accost them in their wave through the cave. The dopey looking Seal Pokemon now looked rather regal and sleek, but that image was ruined a moment later when it’s tongue lulled out the side of its mouth in a dorky fashion. Beca’s comment that Pokemon take after the personality of their owners, only made Chloe punch her half heartedly, much too excited for her new evolved Pokemon to care all that much what Beca had to say.

After exiting the Icy Path, they came to their final Johto obstacle. They weren’t out of the cave for a moment before Chloe made a beeline for the Pokemon Center, ready to heal her team and get on with the Gym battle as quickly as possible. Beca had something else to take care of, so when it came time later that evening to head to the Gym, she told Chloe that she actually had a meeting in the city. Chloe had seemed shocked about it, but agreed easily enough that it was probably easier to split up just this once to take care of their own business. Beca had been worried about Chloe’s reaction, worried that maybe they were too dependent on one another that they may not be able to function, but she shouldn’t have been as Chloe agreed easily to this and gave her a small peck to say goodbye. Beca grabbed her wrist before she could get too far and yanked her back and laid the biggest and deepest kiss that she could on her girlfriend’s lips. When she finally pulled back, Chloe’s breathing deep and labored, pupils blown wide, she just said that it had been for luck before leaving Chloe there stupefied in the middle of town. Beca tried not to feel smug. She failed.

When it came time for her meeting; she was nervous. She was handing in her final submission to the people that needed it. She’d put everything within her into this project to make it be successful. Then she could finally tell Chloe what she had been secretly doing on her laptop and in recording studios in some of the towns they were in. The meeting was shorter than she thought it would be, as the manager of the band took the mix from her and slipped it into a nearby player. She’d been contacted by him a few months ago saying that Neck Deep, a band that Beca really enjoyed, was trying to complete an album, but had no time to get into the studio and write with their touring schedule. They only felt like they needed a song or two to cap off the album, and they had wanted Beca to write and record a demo for them to work from so they could limit the studio days and days off touring. The only discussion in the room was between the band members in between tracks, talking about different things that they might have to tweak a bit to keep in style, but from what it sounded like, they thought they could use a majority of what she’d done. When the two songs were over, she was thanked and actually got to talk to the group a bit, giving them some tips on how to record the songs, and then she received her pay stub for the work and she couldn’t believe the amount on it. She was so taking Chloe out for a nice dinner.

When she left, she left in a good mood, and headed towards the Gym where she hoped she would catch Chloe so she could hear all about the battle with Claire, the Dragon type Gym Leader. She also couldn’t wait to tell Chloe all about what she had been working on. It was a big deal and this could lead to future projects as well. When she arrived at the Gym, she saw Chloe outside talking with a beautiful blue haired girl with a cape. Beca could only guess that this was Claire and made her way over. She surprised Chloe with a hug from behind, being in too good a mood to care about PDA in front of a Gym Leader. Chloe turned and hugged her, news of her victory already spilling from her lips. How Dewgong and Meganium had been outstanding and how she was sad that Beca wasn’t there, but she did it, and she was proud of herself. 

Claire took their lovely-doveyness in stride and simply told Chloe she’d see her in a bit. Chloe said goodbye before turning back to Beca, still beaming brightly. “Am I allowed to ask about your meeting?”

Beca couldn’t stop the grin from coming to her face. She simply nodded, already searching for the words. Before Chloe could even get her own words out, Beca felt words explode from her mouth. “I wrote two tracks for Neck Deep, and they actually liked them, and they’re gonna be on their new album, and I got paid for it, and holy shit Chloe they are one of my favorite bands, and they actually requested me from hearing me off the radio. Oh my god, I’ve been dying to tell you!” Beca rushed it out in one breath and watched it smack Chloe in the face, where she took several moments to process it before Beca felt strong arms wrap around her own waist and lift her up in the air effortlessly. Chloe began to crow and yell about how proud she was of her, and that she deserved every bit of it. 

Beca blushed bloomed and the yelling from Chloe was growing to excessive amounts as several of the locals began looking over to see what the commotion was. Beca eventually got Chloe to put her down and showed her the paycheck for her work. Chloe’s eyes got really big and Beca could have sworn she heard her breathe out a ‘holy shit’. When Beca got around to asking Chloe what they should do, Chloe filled her in on some of the other developments. 

“Well, Claire actually invited me into the Dragon’s Den to chat with some of the sages about some battling stuff. I hear the Dragon’s Den is also pretty good for training so I might do that too. Do you need anything or can we go now?”

“I go where you go.” Beca’s heart fluttered at the lovesick and devoted expression that Chloe gave her, and then Chloe was pulling her along towards the back of town, where the Dragon’s Den loomed underneath a mountain.

When they got to the Dragon’s Den an elderly man stopped them. He asked them their business, and after Chloe stated that she was there to see Claire, and then showed him her new badge, he moved aside, but when Beca tried to follow her, he stopped her. “I’m afraid only those that have the Rising Badge, or are Dragon trainers are allowed past this point.”

Chloe made an affronted noise, though the man did look apologetic. “What qualifies a Dragon trainer? Beca has a Dragon type!”

The old man looked skeptical. “She does?”

Beca nodded and grabbed Noibat’s Pokeball. She released her first Pokemon, who landed on her head, too big for her shoulder, but could rest easy on the top of her head. The old man nodded and moved aside.

“My apologies for assuming. Please go through.”

Beca thanked him, tangled her fingers with Chloe’s again, and began the descent deep into the Den. It was a weird place. It buzzed with an energy that Beca had never really felt before. It oozed power, and felt like it was thrumming through her body like one of Noibat’s bass beats. She’d have to remember this feeling and try to incorporate it into her next mix.

If Chloe noticed it, she didn’t let on, and kept pulling Beca down towards the lake, where they would be ferried across to meet with Claire and some of the town elders. Beca didn’t really know what to expect, but she could tell that Noibat was becoming restless as well, and seemed to be almost twitching.

Soon they met the ferryman and he helped them both into the boat before pushing off and heading for the stilted house that sat, seemingly, in the middle of the water. Beca could peer down in the clear water and see many different kinds of Dragon types swimming around. She saw a Kingdra, several Dratini, and even an exotic Dragalge. 

However, the boat trip wasn’t long, and when they arrived, they were quickly met by Claire who greeted them, giving a confused glance to Beca before her eyes landed on Noibat. Understanding seemed to bloom on her face and then she ushered them both inside. They were met with several elderly men and women who observed them silently for a moment. Soon they asked Claire which of the two of them had defeated her. When Chloe stood before them, they asked her several questions, how she believed Pokemon should be raised, what her dream was, and what the purpose on setting out on her journey was. Chloe answered them all confidently. Beca could really feel the love that she had for Pokemon underneath her answers, and when Chloe embarrassingly said that she just wanted to battle and train and love Pokemon, not having a set dream, that didn’t seem to deter the elders from singing her praises and calling her a wonderful Trainer that they believed would go incredibly far in whatever she should choose to do. Chloe thanked them and turned to leave, Beca getting up to go with her when one of the elders, seemingly the one in charge, stopped them.

“And what about you?”

Beca turned around and gave a wide-eyed look to Claire, who kept her face impassive. “I didn’t take the Gym Challenge. I’m just traveling with my girlfriend.”

The man nodded. “That may be so, but you have Pokemon, a Dragon type even, so it is your turn to answer.”

Beca felt herself internally panic, never having been one for the spotlight, and always desiring some backstage roll. “Um, okay.”

“How do you believe Pokemon should be raised?”

Beca looked up at Noibat. “They’re my partners. We go wherever we both decide to go, but we go together, and that’s the important thing.”

The elder gave nothing away to tell her if she’d given him an agreeable answer. “And what is your dream?”

Beca didn’t have to think about this one. “To be a music producer. It used to be just a DJ, but I’ve grown a lot in the months we’ve been on this journey, and I don’t want to limit what I shoot for anymore.”

“And why did you go on this journey?”

Beca sent a spare glance back at Chloe. “At first it was because, I just didn’t want to be home. My dad can be pretty suffocating, and if Chloe left, I was going to be alone in it. I was selfish and didn’t want to lose her.” Chloe gave her a small smile at that, and she turned back around, unable to look at Chloe for this next part. “Soon, even when I could have achieved my dream and stopped traveling to settle into Goldenrod City, there was something about the traveling and discovering and the Pokemon that made me want to keep going and fight for it. I’ve never really felt that before. I was always more of an inside type, and Pokemon were cool, sure, but they were never in my plans.” She reached up to scratch Noibat’s ears. “But, I think what made the difference, was that even when something isn’t important to you, when you care about someone, and its important to them, it becomes important to you too, and once I had Pokemon of my own…” Her mind flashed to her team, Mismagius, Electabuzz, Nidoking, Umbreon, Scyther, and Noibat. “I was able to grow from it, regardless of my feelings at the outset, and I like myself better this way, actually caring about things, and being in love. It wouldn’t have happened without this journey.”

The elder seemed surprised with this thoughtful response. There was muttering from this from the other elders before they all fell silent. “Thank you for your honesty.”

“Did I pass?” Beca couldn’t help the nervousness that seeped into her voice.

The man chuckled. “Pass? Well, my dear, we only ask the questions. We aren’t the ones that decide if Dragon trainers pass.”

Beca was about to ask what they meant, but from the porch behind them there was a large spray of water as something leapt out and landed in between Beca and the elders. It was a Dragonair, in all of its regal glory, looking directly at Beca and Noibat. 

Noibat trembled in anticipation, launching off of Beca’s back and floating in between her and the other Dragon type. They growled at each other, aura’s flaring as the energy of the Den encapsulated both of them. The stand off was only broken by Noibat’s growling increasing before it began to glow. Beca watched in amazement as it grew much larger, much too large to rest on her head now. When the light broke, her dopey little bat had grown to almost her height, and gotten much tougher looking. Noivern was a force to be reckoned with. It let out a sort of sonic boom that made the entire house shudder, and ripples appear in the water yards away. This was the unbridled power of a fully evolved Dragon, and Beca couldn’t remember when she felt this attuned to her own Pokemon’s mood. She felt like she was going to bust out of her skin at the chance to battle this Dragonair and complete whatever trial the Den had set up for her and her partner.

The Dragonair didn’t look surprised with the evolution, in fact, it looked more excited. Finally, without prompting, both Pokemon leapt at each other and began trading attacks. Beca would call out one from time to time, but there was really no need. This was more of Noivern’s trial than it was hers, and she just needed to be a supportive partner and help when she could. The Dragonair was strong, but Noivern had Beca’s help and when Beca knew it was the right time, and Dragonair was on its last legs, she called out the new and signature move of the Noibat family line that she’d heard so much about. 

“Noivern, Boomburst!” When the sound came from the ears of Noivern, Beca couldn’t describe it. She didn’t know if it was that loud normally, or if it was worse because of the cave, but she’d never felt something hit with that much force. In fact, the cave wall behind the battle imploded on contact with the sound waves and the crushed rocks fell in the lake, piling high. The Dragonair fell back into the water and didn’t surface again, knowing it had been defeated. 

Noivern landed next to her, and Beca reached out a hand like she always used to and ran it along the fur just under Noivern’s neck. It purred and let out a much less destructive bass beat from its ears in pleasure. It was still the same old Pokemon that she’d gotten to know over the last year. It was still her partner.

The elders said something about her battling prowess and how well her Noivern had behaved and the effect of the Den on Dragon types, but she could only see the bright smile that Chloe was giving her, and that light feeling followed her until they fell into bed that night, prepared to leave tomorrow to return home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We finally have us a Noivern! I've used one before and they are powerful, so Beca is defintely got her first powerhouse, and she'll get a few more if everything goes to plan! Also, Neck Deep is a band that's very close to my heart so I threw them in. The album I'm imagining Beca help writing is Life's Not Out To Get You, which was my coming out as bisexual album lol Even got a tattoo inspired by it. You should listen to it.
> 
> Anyway, I'll see you all next time!


	13. Home Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe and Beca arrive back in New Bark Town to some news, a familiar face, and the window to a new beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all!   
> This is it! The final chapter of the Johto Arc! You'll find out where our girls are going next by the end of this chapter as well as something for you all to vote on before I post the next installment!
> 
> There is a rather long AN at the end so please read that so you can know what to vote for, and know the future of the update schedule.

Getting back home wasn’t too much trouble for Chloe and Beca. In fact, there was a helpful route that brought them full circle and put them out near Cherrygrove City from the north. They simply had to turn east and head back to New Bark Town. It was nice to begin to see familiar landmarks and friendly faces, even if Chloe greeted every single one of them in her friendly manner, it couldn’t bring Beca down from her high. She had Umbreon out to walk beside her, while Chloe had elected to let Ledian flutter about around their heads in the bright afternoon sun.

Beca didn’t think that she’d ever been this content. And that was the word for it, content. Happy didn’t describe it properly, as she didn’t feel that bursting feeling she associated with happiness, but a calmness that came from having gone through some trials and coming out a more well rounded person. A steadiness that flowed through her arm from her hand that was interlocked with Chloe’s proudly.

It wasn’t until Beca saw a friendly face that she wanted to greet did she get pulled out of her thoughts. She would notice the dark clothing outfit of Kenny from a mile away and she let her good mood carry her in an uncharacteristic outburst of affection where she leaped into a hug from her big brother who obviously caught her with a small laugh. He looked good. He had a healthy sheen to his skin and she couldn’t help but point it out. “Don’t you look nice? Water boy must have some moves to give you that glow.”

Her brother blushed and shoved her off of him. Beca may have been withdrawn when it came to her emotions, but talking about the physical aspects of a relationship didn’t bug her. It just so happened that the opposite was true of her brother. Chloe finally caught up to them and gave Kenny a hug herself. When Kenny let go though, he had a strange look on his face. “Um, actually there was a reason I was coming out to meet you guys.” He turned to Beca with a grim face. “We have a situation.”

Beca gave him a confused look before he motioned to a nearby clearing. They went and sat, Umbreon curling up in Beca’s lap, though sending her a glare as if to say that it was doing it for itself and not for her. Kenny ran a hand through his shoulder length hair. “So, here’s the gist. No need to sugar coat it, but Dad got that job he was hoping for… in Unova.” Beca felt dread settle in her heart. 

“Oh. We’re moving?” She felt Chloe tightly grip her hand in what she thought might be fear. 

Kenny grimaced. “Not quite… He already left.”

“Already… what do you mean?” Beca’s brain must have short-circuited. 

“He sold the house, gave all our stuff to the Beale’s to hold until we could come get it.” Kenny brought up a crumpled ball of paper. “He left a note if it makes you feel better. I’ll save you the read. He thinks since we’re both Trainers, then we can make our own way.” Kenny was angry, shaking almost. “Utter bullshit, if you ask me. I wanted to tell you before you got to our old house and walked in on the new people living there.”

Beca didn’t hear anything after that. She’s pretty sure that Chloe began rapid-fire questions on her behalf, but she couldn’t feel anything. She didn’t feel anger, she didn’t feel sadness, she just felt… relief? Like she didn’t have this dark looming weight to come home to. She didn’t know what they were talking about, but she just started laughing. That seemed to throw both of them off.

“Uh, sis?”

“Baby?”

“Sorry, I’m sorry. It’s just that, this is exactly something that he would do, especially after I learned about him and Pryce.” She had told Kenny almost immediately about what she’d found out about her father and his former secret boyfriend. “Plus,” she looked over to Chloe, who was staring at her in concern, “it’s not like we were gonna stick around for that long.” Chloe had told her about all the other regions that she wanted to travel, asking if Beca would come with her. It wasn’t a question that Beca was going to go with her, and now she had nothing tying her down to New Bark Town. “The only thing I don’t know is what I’m gonna do with all my stuff I can’t take.”

Kenny looked stunned. “I thought you’d be more upset about this.”

Beca shrugged. “I feel relieved actually. With how he’s been treating us the last few years, I feel like this might be good for both of us.”

Chloe gave her an encouraging smile, while Kenny just scratched his head. “I never looked at it like that… I mean, we could get an apartment or something to put our stuff in while we both travel? Or maybe get a storage unit for when our journeys are done?”

Beca nodded. “That’s something we can talk about while we rest here for the next few days. I want to introduce all of my Pokemon to the place where we lived, and if I catch more Pokemon, some of them will be here at Elm’s lab, so I don’t want them to be surprised or confused.”

Kenny grinned. “Look at you, a Pokemon trainer. Never thought I’d see the day. Also, I think it’s very uncool that you haven’t told me what Pokemon that you’ve caught other than Noibat. What’s with all the secrecy?” He gave a subtle glance down to Umbreon, a small smile on his face as he saw the snuggled up, grumpy Pokemon.

Beca grinned at Chloe, who knew her plan, and she just rolled her eyes back, but nodded. “Well that’s because, you and I are gonna battle it out; best of three. I didn’t want you to have an advantage.”

Kenny couldn’t help but grin. “Oh, baby sister, you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into.” He jumped up though, the same excited look in his eyes that Chloe got before a battle and jogged to stand opposite of Beca. 

Beca stood as well, jostling a very unhappy Umbreon, feeling lighter than she had even this morning. She pulled the Pokeball she wanted off her belt and stood there, the smirk on her face unsettling her brother who was used to seeing her disaffected from most things. She raised her voice, calling over to him. “Age before beauty! You go first!”

Kenny gave her the finger before pulling his own Pokeball. He threw it forward and it released a brown lion looking Pokemon with a flowing red and yellow mane that seemed to slick back from its head. Beca pulled out her phone, snapping a picture and waiting for the information on this Kalosian Pokemon to pop up. It was a Pyroar, a female variant, of a Fire type Pokemon that defended its friends with everything it had and had a breath temperature of ten thousand degrees.

Beca knew the Pokemon she wanted to go with in this battle and she wasn’t going to change it up for anything. She didn’t even have to think before she threw Mismagius’ Pokeball and her Ghost type shimmered into existence. She watched Kenny’s eyes get wide as he saw her first choice, obviously impressed. He was a big geek when it came to Pokemon and he didn’t even try to hide it anymore.

Beca hoped that his distraction could give her an advantage. ”Power Gem!”

Pyroar didn’t have time to dodge as the Rock type move hit square in the chest. It slid back, grunting in pain before turning around and barking angrily at Kenny who frantically apologized for his distraction. Seemed that Pyroar wore the pants in their relationship.

Then it was one. Kenny called out for Pyroar to use Flamethrower, and Beca simply let Mismagius fade out of existence to dodge it. When she reappeared Beca was ready with the next attack.

“Shadow Ball!” The shadowy blob was hurled at Pyroar, but when it hit it simply dissipated. Beca was confused until Chloe called out to her.

“Beca, it’s a Normal type too!”

“Dammit!” She couldn’t help but fume at her brother’s infuriating smirk. 

“Pyroar, Crunch!”

The super effective move hit Mismagius before Beca could order her to evade. But she was able to shake it off enough to continue. “Perish Song!” When the melody began to carry throughout the field, she quickly followed up with another Power Gem. Pyroar used its limited time wisely as it continually leapt at Mismagius to use Crunch. It was fast, but Mismagius was a master of evasion. Beca kept using Phantom Force, knowing that the attack wouldn’t damage Pyroar because of its Normal typing, but the disappearing that Mismagius could do to set up the move was incredibly helpful in dodging. She could see her brother getting more and more frustrated, and it all came to a head when the haunting tune of Perish Song echoing back to them, Pyroar letting out a small mewl before it collapsed from the song.

Her brother returned it to its Pokeball and gave her a glare. Beca grinned at him. “I picked up a few tricks.”

“Cheap tricks.”

“Siblings never fight fair. Don’t be such a baby.”

Kenny sighed, as she and Mismagius celebrated before she recalled her Ghost type to ready herself for the second battle of this best of three battle. She knew that by usual rules she had to reveal her next Pokemon first so as to keep it an even match.

“Noivern!” Her first Pokemon, the Pokemon that her brother gifted her, appeared on the field and let out a sonic boom that she was sure could be heard in Cianwood. She knew that she had surprised Kenny. He probably figured it would be her anchor that she would pull out as a last stop in their battle. However, he recovered quickly enough and threw his Pokeball. Another cat-like Pokemon appeared, though this one was blue and stood on two legs. It had intelligent eyes and simply stood there in the presence of a full-grown Dragon without flinching. 

Beca again pulled out her phone to check the Pokedex app again. This was Meowstic. And when Beca read about the thing that its Psychic power could do to a ten-ton truck, she began to take the diminutive cat a little more seriously. Then the battle was underway again.

“Noivern, use Dragon Pulse!”

“Meowstic, dodge and then use Disarming Voice!”

Beca frowned. What was that weak sounding move going to do?

It wasn’t until Noivern covered its ears in pain and wailed in desperation. Kenny couldn’t help but grin. “Fairy typing. Quite nasty to Dragons.”

Beca cursed and tried to call out over the field to Noivern, but couldn’t seem to get through over the constant noise of Disarming Voice in its ears. Beca cursed and tried a different tactic. She ran forward a little bit and placed her hand on the Dragon type’s back. She hummed in her chest, trying to reach Noivern through vibrations. It seemed to wake it up quite a bit and she was finally able to reach through the pain. “Boomburst!”

The powerful move absolute rolled over the smaller sounds that were pummeling the Dragon type. Meowstic was blown back several yards just from the shockwave that came from the blast. When the dust settled Noivern, not only looked back in the fight, but looked angry and ready to dominate.  
Kenny looked absolutely shocked by the power that the little bat Pokemon that he gave her all those months ago was displaying. He was easy pickings after that. 

“Agility and then Super Fang!” 

Noivern moved with purpose and shot in quickly to clamp down on the smaller Psychic type. Then Noivern flew up between them and Beca knew what should come next. “Boomburst!” The attack created a slight crater in the ground as it knocked Meowstic out of commission in short order.

Kenny called in back and looked at Beca in shock. “That was… how did he get so powerful?”

Beca shrugged. “I got some tips from Claire and trained in the Dragon’s Den a bit. Plus, I think Boomburst is so powerful cause he’s been helping me with my music since I got him. It just comes naturally.”

Kenny shook his head in wonder. “Wow, okay, well you win by a landslide.”

Beca shook her head. “No, come on, I wanna do the third battle anyway.” She returned Noivern to his Pokeball and brought another one up, tossing it out to reveal Scyther, ready to go. She had been talking to Scyther for some days about her plan to battle her brother, and Scyther was absolutely ready for a real fight and not just training. It had several on the road after she had caught it, but seemed to always wish to drive itself, almost as if in competition with Electabuzz but unwilling to admit it.

Kenny looked between her and Scyther and sighed. “Fine.” He threw his Pokeball as Beca went back to take her original place. The Pokemon that appeared was a bird like Pokemon that stood on two legs. It was brightly colored in orange, green, and white. Her Pokedex app said that this Pokemon was called Hawlucha. It was a Fighting and Flying type. A strange type combo that wasn’t going to be easy to defeat with Scyther, so Beca was going have to think hard about how to overcome this.

Beca decided to try to exploit Hawlucha’s Fighting aspects by starting with a Flying type attack. “Scyther, Wing Attack!” The move was relatively weak, but with Scyther’s Technician ability, this would hit hard.

“Detect!” She cursed as Hawlucha protected itself and the attack ended up doing nothing. 

Before her brother could recover though, she called out for Wing Attack again. Scyther immediately shot forward towards Hawlucha with ill intent, and like she thought, Kenny called for Detect again, but this time she was ready. “Feint!”

Scyther disappeared in an instant, appearing to Hawlucha’s right and smashing into it and sending it flying, unable to protect this time. It landed hard, but darted up with renewed vigor, glaring at Scyther.

Kenny also looked more determined. He obviously didn’t want to get swept by his little sister in all three battles. “Hawlucha, Bounce!”  
Hawlucha sprung up in the air and seemed to hover for an indefinite amount of time. When it finally started its descent, no matter where Scyther moved, it seemed to be able to use its smaller wing to glide down and stay on target and Beca could do nothing but watch as Scyther took the full brunt of the attack. It staggered her Mantis Pokemon, and the panic in Beca’s chest only increased as she saw the tell tale signs of paralysis that sometimes accompanied moves like Bounce. Scyther was going to be much slower now, and might not even be able to move at all. This was less than ideal, and Beca knew she needed to end this quickly before Hawlucha could capitalize.

“Scyther, try Façade!” This was a move that’s power seemed to double if a Pokemon was affected by a status condition like Paralysis.

“Hawlucha, Flying Press!”

Two incredibly powerful moves colliding would have sent the surrounding area into chaos and thrown dust high into the air. Would have, but sadly, Scyther, as it was closing in for the strike, was affected by the paralysis and flinched just long enough for Hawlucha’s signature move to crush him.

Beca sighed sadly. She pulled out her Pokeball, recalling Scyther. “You did good, bud. That was just some bad luck.”

Kenny was busy congratulating his Hawlucha when Beca walked over to him. He grinned up at her. “Well, at least you didn’t show me up too bad then.”

“Not this time. Just wait a few more years and you won’t even be in my league anymore, bro.”

He gave her a fake glare. “Who is actually the official Pokemon trainer between us?”

Beca gave a small laugh and shoved him over, only to help him up after. It was about then that Chloe came running up from behind Beca shouting about how amazing their trio of battles was. Beca knew that tone in her voice, Chloe wanted in on the action and she knew that Kenny would say yes as soon as she asked, but Beca needed to head that off before that could happen. At least for now.

“So how long you sticking around? Maybe we can train with each other more before we leave, or before you leave.”

Kenny stood up, returning Hawlucha. “A couple weeks at least. I need to get some place to store my stuff from dad’s. After that, I’m not sure where I’ll go next or what team I’ll take. What about you guys?”

Beca looked at Chloe, communicating with her just through a few eyebrow raises before receiving a small nod. “I think I’m just gonna keep my stuff at Chloe’s for now, as long as her parents are cool with it. I think we will stay for a couple weeks too. After that, I think we are gonna head to the Unova region. I think its time Dad and I had a talk.”

Kenny looked confused. “I thought that you said you didn’t care that he was gone.”

Beca shrugged. “I don’t. I feel relieved honestly, but I’d rather say my peace while I can and before we lose track of him than never get to, you know?” She felt Chloe’s hand slip into hers. “After all, being with Chloe has really been good for doing all these stupid emotional talks. You know how she is.” She felt a small playful slap on her shoulder before Chloe buried her face into her shoulder and nuzzled against her. “Plus, they have Gyms there too for Chloe and some Pokemon that we haven’t seen yet. If you wanted to come, I’m sure that could be arranged too.”

Kenny seemed to ponder the offer for a bit. “I’ll have to let you know. I don’t know if I’m ready for that kind of confrontation with him, but we have a couple weeks together before you guys leave so I’ll let you know.”

Chloe was vibrating next to her so Beca just rolled her eyes. “Okay, ask him for a battle Chloe.”

The offer burst out of her mouth before Beca had even finished. “Please!?”

Kenny chuckled. “Only if you use Chikorita and I’m allowed to use Helioptile again.”

“Deal!”

Chloe sent out Meganium while Kenny let out Heliolisk, Helioptile’s evolution, and they squared off again. Beca sighed happily and walked a bit away to watch the battle. She knew that this would be the most likely sight for the next few weeks that they were home, but she couldn’t find herself mad at that fact. In fact, she was looking forward to the time off where she could lay with Chloe in her bed and not have to worry about how far they would have to travel the next day. She could lay with Chloe and just be. And then, when it was time to leave again, she’d look forward to seeing that excited face of Chloe’s every single day. After all, just like their original friendship; Pokemon, romance, and traveling had seemed to grow on her without her even realizing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! Yay! Now, for all of those who would like to vote, please do in the comments whether you want Kenny to go with the girls or not. I don't mind writing him, but I want to leave it up to you guys and if you guys just want Chloe and Beca then I have no problem with that either.
> 
> (Long AN ahead!)  
> This story has been so fun to write so far. However, saying that, I do need a bit of a break. There are several reasons behind the break from this story. Number 1, with them going to Unova, I wanted to immerse myself back in the region in my own playthrough to make sure my ideas are fresh and interesting to all of you guys and, for me, Pokemon games take a bit to play through, so I just ask you to be patient while I reacquaint myself with the Unova region. Number 2, I have several one shots for other fandoms that I haven't been writing to focus on this story and my Superhero AU for WWE. I would like to finish some of those and post them before I come back and start writing this story again so that I can give my love to the fandoms I've been neglecting such as the lovely Carmilla fandom. Now, I don't expect to be gone very long from this story, just enough time to do the things above before I start writing for it again. I just want to make sure that my research is all done for it before I start and I hope you guys can be patient while I do this.

**Author's Note:**

> How was it? Good? Horrid? 
> 
> I had some flirting in there, but they are just starting on their journey so you know it'll go places. Now, I guess the question is... do you guys want more? A full blow chapter by chapter tale of their story? Or maybe just some one shots of big moments like a new capture of a Pokemon or Chloe's gym battles? I think I'd be more open for it being a series of one shots throughout, but idk if you guys even want me to continue this, so please leave a kudos and a comment telling me what to do ;-; and obviously the romance will ramp up throughout... maybe even go to other regions!
> 
> And for new people, please check out my page to see if I have any other fandoms in common with you! Oh and I have a tumblr too where I post things that are sometimes Bechloe and sometimes other stuff. It's @icameasahoplite
> 
> I've been Enigma and I'll see you soon!


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